The Second Chance
by Wolveine
Summary: The war is finally won, but there were far too many casualties. Harry gets a second chance to save the wizarding world from an unexpected source. What will he do differently this time, and will there be unexpected consequences from his tampering of time? Original timeline follows JK Rowling, but Voldemort was not defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts. Going to be novel length.
1. My Most Dangerous Enemy

The war was won. There were parades, parties, Ministry sponsored ceremonies, and Diagon Alley had never been filled with more cheer. Children played in the street as old friends caught up over a drink and discussed the bravery of Harry Potter. They spoke of his tenacity, fighting ability, and his mysterious disappearance. You see, Harry Potter has not been seen since receiving Order of Merlin, First Class from the Ministry three weeks ago. The papers were searching for him restlessly, trying to get his comment on everything from his opinion on Death Eater trials to the weather. It was rumored that Harry had left the country and was currently resting the Bahamas. Little did they know that 22 year old Harry Potter was crammed inside of a cupboard under the stairs in an abandoned house on Privet Drive.

Harry sat in silence, watching a small black spider whirl an intricate web. As he studied the design of the web, he thought about how so many moments of his life were connected and had led him to this point. He thought of his abusive childhood with the Dursleys, meeting Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on their first train ride to Hogwarts, the valentine Ginny Weasley had sent him second year, the first time he met Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, Neville Longbottom standing next to him with courage in the Department of Mysteries, and glancing into the Pensieve with Albus Dumbledore. It was a shame that every single one of those people were dead.

The Battle of Hogwarts was just the beginning of the war. The second Harry rolled out of Hagrid's arms and Voldemort realized that he survived yet another killing curse, he Disapparated and took all of his Death Eaters with him. They regrouped for a few weeks, and came back with an unimaginable vengeance in the form of guerrilla warfare. They lived in the darkness, attacked at random, and caused mass casualties. Each edition of The Daily Prophet carried a running list of all of the people that have died due to Death Eater attacks. This list eventually became so extensive that The Prophet released two papers each day, one with the list of casualties and the other with the most recent news.

Eventually the Order of the Phoenix dwindled down to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. Each and every day Harry stood in front of the Ministry, hoping this would be the day Voldemort would attack him. He was ready to face his nemesis, ready to let destiny run its course and decide who would survive. He was tired of watching friends die, tired of secret funerals, tired of fearing for others' safety. He wanted to end it, but Voldemort was not ready.

Although Voldemort did not believe in the power of love, he did know that Harry believed in its power. That's why he decided his best chance to defeat him would be to remove all of those people that Harry loved from this world. And not just remove them, but destroy them. Neville was tortured into insanity before being sent back to Harry with whip marks across his back and poison in his system. The poison slowly destroyed Neville's lungs, making each passing breath more difficult and killing him within the week.

Ron and Hermione were captured in battle. They were taken to an undisclosed location. Voldemort paralyzed Ron and made him watch as his wife was beaten, raped, and killed. He then extracted Ron's memory and sent it with an owl to deliver to Harry at the Ministry before killing Ron.

Harry emptied his vault attempting to secure Grimmauld Place with impenetrable wards. The problem was money meant nothing in a society dominated by fear. One of the workers was tortured by Voldemort himself and exposed a security flaw within Grimmauld Place. Voldemort and his most loyal Death Eaters extracted Ginny and slowly sent her back to Harry… piece by piece.

Harry studied the spider's web, a bottle of whisky in his hand and tears dripping down his face. He thought of his abusive childhood, and how this cupboard was the one place he felt completely safe. It was a miserable childhood, and yet he somehow missed it. He missed the simplicity of it all. Stay out of the way, and you won't get beat. It was a simple concept. Was it fair? Not at all. Did he hate Vernon Dursley for it? With every fiber of his being. But that was the simplest time of his life, and he yearned for simplicity, for some kind of normalcy.

So he sat, and he drank. Kreacher came by occasionally and gave him some food and water, but Harry only accepted enough to survive before ordering him away. As he sulked, he heard another crack and knew Kreacher must be here to check up on him again.

There was a soft knock on the cupboard door. "Master? You need to eat." Kreacher softly said.

"What. Have. You. Brought. Me. This. Time?" Harry mumbled.

"Meatloaf, just like Mistress Ginny used to make." Kreacher replied with a sympathetic pride in his voice. It had taken him forever to perfect the recipe, but he finally made it taste exactly like Ginny used to make it.

"Fine, come in" Harry replied.

Kreacher opened the cupboard door slowly and straightened up, making sure not to respond to the repulsiveness of the entire scene. The odor was horrible; a mixture of an unshowered Harry, rotting leftovers, and potent whiskey almost overwhelmed Kreacher's senses. And that's saying a lot, as he had lived in an uncleaned Grimmauld Place for years before Master Harry moved in.

Kreacher regained his senses and delicately said "Master Harry, please come out. The wizarding world loves you, they will take care of you. There is no need to shut yourself away in this cupboard"

Harry seemed to snap out of his drunken state, and a bitterness showed through his eyes. "The world… Ha… my world is gone Kreacher. I've lost everyone. I've lost everything. And yet I'm a sodding hero... PEOPLE ARE CELEBRATING. How? How are they fucking celebrating? Maybe they can forget their fallen ones, but I can't. I won't. So no Kreacher, I'm not going to come out. I'm not going to let the wizarding world love me. I don't deserve it. I couldn't save the people that meant the most to me. The wizarding world can go on without bloody Harry Potter now. Now go. Leave me alone. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but unless you find a way to bring back my friends just fuck off. Leave me here to die. That's an order."

Kreacher's eyes grew wide, he couldn't resist a direct order. He stared at his master, slowly absorbing this image into his mind. This was the last time he would ever see him. This man was the man who saved him numerous times, who cared for him and saw past the rough exterior when first meeting him, who treated him with respect that he did not deserve. Who opened his eyes to another side of life; another way of living. He needed to capture this image in his mind. This would be the last time he saw his master, no... _his friend_.

"It has been an honor serving you, just call my name if you need me again" Kreacher said before he bowed. He knew Harry hated it when he bowed, but it felt like an appropriate time to show him respect. He slowly turned away and with a small crack, Disapparated.

Harry took a sip of water and closed his eyes while eating the meatloaf. He imagined sitting at a kitchen table across from his beautiful wife, complimenting her on her cooking while telling each other about how their day was. He imagined spraying Ginny with water while cleaning the dishes. He imagined making love with her with a belly full of meatloaf. He imagined cuddling with her while whispering about their future children. Yes, the war was won, but too many battles were lost.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry took a deep breathe. He inhaled the smell of strawberries. He tasted Ginny's lips upon his. They were soft… so soft. He felt her small fingers intertwine with his. Her body lying gently upon him. He could feel the beat of her heart upon his chest. They stayed in this perfect moment for what felt like hours. This is where he belonged.. next to Ginny. They were finally safe, finally peaceful.

Suddenly, he heard a small crack. His eyes slowly opened, as he slowly was drawn out of his sleep. Well, it was actually a mixture between a slumber and a hallucination. Harry knew he was close, so close to a peaceful death. After not eating or drinking for the past two days, he felt his energy fade.

Although it didn't make much sense, he couldn't turn his wand upon himself. That would be too easy a way to die. After all the sacrifices everyone has made so he could live, he simply could not take the coward's way out. Somehow, dying of natural causes seemed more appealing. It was natural, normal…the way he always wanted his life to be. Yes...dying of natural causes still dishonors the sacrifices everyone had made, but he would explain it to them in the afterlife.

Harry groaned; he did not understand why Kreacher returned. He was the only one who knew where Harry was, and Harry had given him a direct order to let him die. Why can't he just let Harry die in peace?

Kreacher didn't bother knocking; instead he just flung open the cupboard door. The light poured in, burning Harry's eyes. Kreacher screamed, "My master is still alive! Kreacher has returned from his mission!"

"Unfortunately… And what the bloody hell are you talking about? Your mission was to stay away from me."

"No master, apologies for the language but you said 'unless you find a way to bring back my friends just fuck off.' Well, Kreacher has not slept for three days and thinks he has found a way to bring your friends back!"

"Kreacher, there's no way to resurrect the dead. Dumbledore has told me that on numerous occasions. Well, the Resurrection Stone is a possibility but I wouldn't make my friends live in that awful state."

"No master, there is no way to resurrect the dead. But there is a way for them not to die in the first place!"

"You're wrong; believe me I've thought of that as well. But all the Time Turners were destroyed. Plus, they couldn't go far back enough to make any difference. Even if some survived, they are limited to only a few hours."

"Oh no master, Time Turners are not the answer. I talked to all of the house elves in Hogwarts. They are fond of Kreacher since they know I serve you. I told them my dilemma, and one of them, Dee, said she overheard her old master speaking to a man with blue robes about another way to go back in time"

That last sentence had finally peaked Harry's interest. A man in blue robes worked for the Department of Mysteries. And if that was the case, could they have possibly found a way to go back in time? "When did they hear this conversation?" Harry asked.

"It was two years ago, right after the Battle of Hogwarts. Her master, Mr. Robinson, had a man with blue robes to his home and she overheard everything while serving dinner. Her master died only a few weeks later and with no heirs, so she was sent by the Ministry to work at Hogwarts," Kreacher replied

"Well, even if this is true.. There's no way of knowing who that man in blue robes was or if he was even right in saying there was another way" Harry sighed, his eyes darting around the cupboard looking for a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Kreacher found this information out two days ago, master. The next two days Kreacher spent trying to find this man. Kreacher stood outside of the Ministry day and night talking to every man in blue robes he saw. He asked them if they knew a Mister Robinson with a house elf named Dee. Most ignored Kreacher, but one man stopped in his tracks when he heard the name Mister Robinson and talked to Kreacher," Kreacher said excitedly.

Harry's heart was pounding, his head spinning from excitement along with his lack of nutrition. "Kreacher… what was his name?"

"Mister Malcolm McGonagall sir"

Harry's heart stopped on a dime. "What did he say to you?"

"He says he knew Mister Robinson and Dee. I pulled him aside and whispered to him if he knew of a way to go back in time. He was not happy Kreacher said that, but I didn't know how else to see if it was him. He started walking away but Kreacher told him he belonged to Mister Harry Potter. Kreacher is sorry for using master's name, but Kreacher recognized the name McGonagall from when master sent Kreacher to work at Hogwarts." Kreacher had to refrain himself from hitting his head on the wall. Harry had forbidden that a long time ago. Well, technically he had forbidden him to call him "master" also, but eventually gave up on enforcing that after he saw how much effort it took Kreacher.

"It's alright Kreacher, go on. What did he tell you? And do you know if he's related to Professor McGonagall? I know she wasn't married."

"Yes, he is her younger brother. He says he would not speak to Kreacher, but he will speak to Mister Potter," Kreacher replied.

Harry felt an odd feeling inside the pit of his stomach. Was that hope? "Kreacher… I don't know what to say. Thank you. You are the best friend a guy could ask for." Harry had told him this before, but he needed Kreacher to fully understand. You see, as Harry lost everything, Kreacher was always there to take care of him. It was amazing how much the elf opened up to him after the simple acts of kindness Harry showed him after leaving Hogwarts to hunt Horcruxes. Through all of his friends' deaths, Kreacher was there to care for Harry and help him survive. It had taken a full six months after Ginny's death to conquer Voldemort, and the entire time Kreacher was the only one Harry had to talk to. They had a relationship that went well beyond master/servant, and well beyond a normal friendship.

Kreacher's eyes swelled with pride and tears began openly falling. "Kreacher has gotten Mister McGonagall's address and said Master Harry will contact him".

"I will. Actually, I will do that right now." Harry said.

"No, Master Harry must eat and drink first." Kreacher said with some command in his voice. Harry thought of Mrs. Weasley, smiled inwardly, and then quickly frowned. She died a horrible death after Voldemort learned she had defeated Bellatrix. He remembered the pain of losing the closest thing he had to a mum, and the trouble he had comprehending how devastated Ginny was. He eventually got her through it, but her smile never really reached her eyes after losing her mother.

"Fine, can you grab me some parchment and a quill though? I want to write a quick note to him in order to set up a meeting."

Kreacher summoned the meal he had left on the countertop and gave it to Harry, then quickly retreated to the kitchen to find a pen and paper.

After Kreacher returned, Harry wrote a very quick note telling Mr. McGonagall his whereabouts and asking him to join him at Privet Drive as soon as possible. He then turned to Kreacher and said "Can you take this note to the owlery in Diagon Alley and attach it to the fastest owl there? I don't want to make a public appearance and I still can't imagine getting another owl." His heart swelled as he thought of Hedwig. "Then, seriously Kreacher, get some rest. You have done remarkably well. Regardless of whether or not this works, you saved my life… and possibly all of my friends. I can't thank you enough."

"Of course, Master Harry."

"Kreacher... It's just Harry."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Kreacher Disapparated, Harry scurried out of the cupboard and hopped into the shower. As the warm water rained down onto his skin, he thought of about how much his life could change in just a few short hours. After he talked to Malcolm McGonagall, he would know whether or not it was possible to see his friends once again. Moreover, he would know whether or not it was possible to save them. Many of these people were not just his friends, but his family. The Weasley family had always treated him like one of their own, but after marrying Ginny he was officially part of the family. He sighed as he thought about how his family always died.

He was probably being overly optimistic, Harry thought. All of this could come crashing down around him very quickly. The conversation Mr. McGonagall had with Mr. Robinson was years ago, if that conversation happened at all. Maybe Dee misheard them. Maybe she didn't mishear them, but the project was abandoned. Surely someone would have heard if there was a way to turn back time. Someone would have stopped this war from happening. The realization came crashing down upon him; the chances of this conversation leading to anything worthwhile was extremely thin, if even existent at all. He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower into a cold world.

A few hours later, the doorbell rang. Harry had not received a reply from Mr. McGonagall, but nonetheless had been waiting for him all day. The note he sent didn't require a response, it just said to come at his earliest convenience. It was nearing 6:00pm, so Harry thought he must be coming from work. He realized he was correct when he saw those magnificent blue robes outside of his peephole.

He opened the door and studied the man. This is precisely what he would expect the late Professor McGonagall's brother to look like. The man had thin grey hair, with a few brown hairs desperately clinging to their youth.[2] [3] He had a thin build and wore small, rectangular glasses. He looked like a man who would live in a library if given the chance. Harry extended his hand. "Mr. McGonagall, it's great to meet you."

"It is an honor to meet you, lad. Although, it's not the first time I've seen you," McGonagall replied as he shook Harry's hand and stepped through the doorway.

"I remember seeing you at Professor McGonagall's funeral sir. I'm so sorry for your loss. Professor McGonagall was my favorite teacher and the Head of my House. I got into a bit of trouble over the years so I knew her well."

"Thank you, she went down fighting and I know that's the way she wanted to go. Ah yes, I know you did. We couldn't go through a single holiday meal without her telling stories of your adventures." Mr. McGonagall smiled. "She never talked about a student the way she talked about you. I know you must have meant a great deal to her."

"That means a lot to me sir."

"I'm glad. But anyway, down to business. This house elf of yours tracked me down and spoke of my work. First off, how did he know about it?" Mr McGonagall said seriously. Harry felt like he was about to take away house points.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But basically Kreacher took it upon himself to try to find a way to bring my friends back from the dead. He asked all of the elves at Hogwarts for help and one of them named Dee told him about a man in blue robes that visited with her old master, Mr. Robinson and talked about a way to go back in time. She didn't know your name of course, which is why Kreacher stood outside the Ministry asking everyone with blue robes if they knew Mr. Robinson."

"Speaking about my work is incredibly dangerous," Mr. McGonagall replied.

"So it's true?" Harry said with awe.

"Well… no. We have a theory, but it is just that.. a theory." McGonagall began. "Theoretically, it could work, but it would likely kill whoever attempted it."

"Likely?" Harry questioned. This was his shot; if there was a chance, he was going to take it.

"Almost certainly," McGonagall quickly responded; he did not like the direction this conversation was headed[4] [5] . "So close to certainty, that my superiors shut down the project and assigned me to a new one. Which is quite the statement, as this was number one on their priority list for quite a while and we had some of the greatest minds in the country working on it."

"Is there a chance it could work though?" Harry replied.

"Only theoretically, we had never successfully sent someone back. Not even a few seconds into the past," McGonagall sighed.

"Did you attempt to before?"

"No, we couldn't find anyone daft enough to be the first to try it."

Harry smirked; Snape had always claimed he was daft. Time to prove him right. "Well congratulations Mr. McGonagall, you found someone."

"No" McGonagall stated firmly. "You don't understand what it entails."

"Then tell me," Harry immediately replied.

"It starts with an extremely complex potion," McGonagall began. "The foulest and most temperamental potion imaginable. Even the most experienced potion-makers struggle to make it. One small stir can be the difference between life and death. The beetles used need to be an exact age, to the day, or else the potion will be poison. And this potion is just the beginning, as the exact ingredients and number of stirs only determines exactly how far back in time you will be sent. Exactly 77 seconds after you drink the potion, you must have completed the rest of the process or else you will die of poisoning also."

"What's the rest of the process?" Harry replied, his heart racing.

"You must be kissed by a dementor." McGonagall shuddered. "After being kissed, one must have another person in the room to cast a Patronus charm to send the dementor into a veil located deep within the Department of Mysteries. As I said, your body will die 78 seconds after drinking the potion, so then all that matters is what happens to your soul."

"So why does it matter if I drink this potion if it simply kills me?" Harry asked. "Potion effects the body."

"You haven't studied your NEWTS yet, Mr Potter," McGonagall replied. "Of course, understandably so. But had you been able to continue your education, you would have learned that certain potions are able to affect the soul, temporarily at least," McGonagall lectured. Harry thought of how much more interested in potions he could have been if it had not been for Snape's endless taunting.

"I'm still confused," Harry said slowly. "So why can't I take the potion and just jump through the veil? Why include a dementor and put my soul at risk?"

"Why are you still saying your soul?" McGonagall pleaded. The whole reason he described it in such detail was to deter the boy from attempting it. "There is too much risk. You're gambling both your life and your soul. Be grateful for the life you've been given Mr. Potter! You're a hero! There will be folktales about you someday.. hell, there already are!"

"Don't call me a hero. Don't you get it? I'm the reason they are all dead. I'm the reason your sister is dead." Harry said solemnly.

"That's not true Harry" McGonagall said softly. "You know that's not true. You did everything you could so that everyone could live. The stories that circulated about your constant sacrifice were remarkable. But remember, the war was much more than about you, and I would appreciate it if you didn't act as if my sister was a helpless witch. She died because she battled for the good in this world, not because of anything you did."

Harry felt horrible, although he still blamed himself for not defeating Voldemort sooner. "I'm sorry. You're right. But one thing you are wrong about is saying that I did everything I could. I am doing everything that I can so that everyone can live. You're the only one that can help. So please, help me. Why include dementors?"

The emotions in Harry's eyes were almost unbearable for McGonagall to look at. He closed his eyes, regretting this conversation more than ever before replying, "The soul must be lost for this to work. With the soul detached from the body, the veil doesn't know what to do with it. You see, when a dementor steals a soul it doesn't actually merge with the soul. It kind of just eats it and it is stored within the dementor. When the dementor enters the veil, the soul theoretically will become independent and have no true host. Once the veil realizes this, it will spit it back out into the world very quickly, which is why you have to enter the veil with such precise timing. It will be inside of the veil for approximately two seconds, and in this time the soul must be aged backwards by the potion. Now, within the veil there is no flow of time, but the time your soul enters the veil is kind of stamped onto the soul itself. Think of it like a tag. When it spits it out into the world, release it to a time in which your souls age aligns with the correct date"

Harry smirked "I feel like most of this is completely over my head, but go on."

"Don't you see; when your soul goes into the veil it will be stamped. So for you it would say Harry Potter, 22, and today's date. Now the potion is made to temporarily decrease your soul's age, so within those two seconds your soul is inside of the veil, your soul's age decreases. So let's say you made a potion to go back 10 years. That means your potion will temporarily decrease your souls age by 10 years. When the veil spits your soul back out into the world it would need to align the date with the soul's age. So it would see your soul's age was 12, and would send your soul back into the world at today's date 12 years ago.

Harry's head was pounding, but he thought he understood the gist of it at least. "Well I think that's pretty much as well as anyone could explain something that complex," Harry laughed. "And I notice you used my name in the example.. Does that mean you'd be willing to help?"

"You understand what you're asking me to do correct? You're asking me to risk a boy's life in an experiment that's bound to go wrong?"

"No, I'm asking you to save hundreds of lives. I'm the only one that can defeat Voldemort. Even if you want to disregard the prophecy, I'm the only one alive who knows enough about his secrets to stop him."

"I still don't feel comfortable doing this," McGonagall sighed.

"I'm on the brink of breaking Mr. McGonagall," Harry admitted. "Although Voldemort and his Death Eaters are gone, my life is still a constant struggle to survive. "

"I'm sorry lad, I don't get what you're saying."

"I guess you could say I'm my most dangerous enemy" Harry said quietly. "My entire life I thought that once I defeated Voldemort, I could start living. And after I finally killed him, I looked around and realized there was not a person left to rejoice with. I've sat here, under those stairs, for nearly a month. This is not some little fit I'm going through. This is my life and my future."

McGonagall wiped the tears that were escaping his eyes and stared at the boy in front of him. No, McGonagall thought, not a boy.. a man. The man he stared at had been through hell, and had seen more action than most Aurors do in their entire career. Those green eyes that looked back at him had seen more death than imaginable. "I'm with you Harry, as long as you understand the risks."

"I do," Harry said flatly.

"Well then, we will have to find a third person to help. I can get us some premade potion that we have been storing and make alterations for the exact amount of time you wish to go back, but we will need a third person to assist with the Patronus charm" McGonagall stated "If only I cast it, then the dementor may just veer off to the left or right to avoid my charm. With a second person, we can each cast our Patronus at an angle and back the dementor into the veil without an opportunity for escape. And obviously you can't cast it because you would have already been kissed."

"I know who we can trust," Harry simply stated.

"Who?" McGonagall replied.

"My brother-in-law."

~~~ My first story so please review and give feedback. I plan on turning this into a pretty long novel. This chapter was extremely dark, and it won't be as dark in the future. I just needed to set the scene in order to show the horrible things that Harry has been through I highly suggest reading the next two chapters before passing a judgement on the story. Based on my traffic stats, if you read the second and third chapters, there is a very good chance you read it all the way through!

Also, chapters 1-9 are going to be reviewed and updated by betas. I know there are mistakes, but I recently recruited betas to really clean up the story. So, future updates will be much more polished than these initial chapters.

Obviously Kreacher is very different than canon, but his change in attitude will be described later. Let me know any suggestions you have, how you like the plot/characters, or really just anything! I've found myself checking my inbox a little too often hoping for reviews, so please fill my inbox up!


	2. Back to the Burrow

Percy Weasley had been standing outside of the closed door to the Burrow for the past ten minutes. Gringotts had been sending him owls for weeks demanding him to pick up the deed to his inherited house, but he did not want it. He recalled the last time he opened this door, on Christmas Day four years ago. His stomach clenched as he remembered his mother rushing over to him with nothing but love in her eyes, and how he turned his back on his family just a few minutes after his arrival. No, he did not want this house one bit. The memories of his family were too strong, and this home was a reminder of all his largest mistakes.

Following the Battle of Hogwarts, Percy went into hiding. While the Ministry was under Thicknesse rule, all employees who worked closely with the minister were forced to take on a permanent tracking charm. When he finally turned his back on the Ministry at the Battle of Hogwarts, he understood that he was a marked man. The only spell that would make him untraceable was the Fidelius Charm. He decided to make a witch by the name of Audrey secret keeper, as she was one of his only friends from school and wasn't involved with the war. He yearned to see his family before he went into hiding, but he knew that he would be putting them in grave danger. If someone from the Ministry was tracking him, he could potentially lead them directly to the rest of his family. After the Battle of Hogwarts ended, he wrote a quick letter explaining that he was going into hiding and sent it to the Burrow.

A few weeks ago, Percy learned of Voldemort's downfall through the Daily Prophet. After two long years in hiding, he finally left the boundaries of the Fidelius charm in order to send an owl to his Mother, but the owl returned to him a few hours later with his message still attached. Fearing the worst, he sent an owl to his father, but that owl returned within minutes. Soon thereafter, an owl from the Ministry of Magic located him and delivered a letter informing him of his inheritance of the Burrow. He had feared that his parents met their end when the owl was not able to locate them, but this verified that his worst fears were correct.

As he stood in front of the house that haunted his dreams, he saw a rusty looking barn owl approaching. The bird landed gracefully on his shoulder and offered him his leg. Reading the note, Percy's expression hardened.

_Percy,_

_I know you aren't very fond of me, but I need your help. There aren't many people I can trust to perform a certain task I need done, but I know that your magical abilities are top notch and I trust that you will do what needs to be done, no matter the cost. I'm sorry for being so vague, but please send an owl back as soon as possible with directions to your location. There's a chance that we can make everything the way it should be. _

_Best,_

_Harry _

Harry Potter needed his help? Although he made amends with his family, he still blamed Harry for their deaths. In his opinion, the day Ron met Harry was the beginning of the end for his family. Harry was the reason they were so involved in the war, and the reason his family was dead. Percy scoffed; Harry couldn't buy his assistance with simple flattery. But that last sentence drew his attention. What did he mean by the way everything should be? If everything was the way it should be, his family would still be alive. Surely he must be using that term loosely. But what if he wasn't? Percy transfigured a stick lying lazily in the grass into a quill and scribbled a response informing Harry that he was at the Burrow. He attached the note to the owl and sent him on his way. Percy took a deep breath and looked back towards the door. He reached out for the knob and slowly pushed the door open with trembling hands, wishing his mother could be there to greet him with open arms just one last time.

With a small pop, Harry stood on the outskirts of the Burrow. As he made the small journey to reach the front door, he was reminded of the conversation he had with Dumbledore a few years back regarding the purpose of disapperating a short distance away from your destination in order to give the homeowner an opportunity to deny you access. He would have never thought that he would be feel the need to follow this custom when he was going to the Burrow, but he was unsure of how the current resident would react to his presence.

As he approached the front door, Harry gathered his thoughts. The walk brought back some fond memories that he so desperately missed. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it slowly opened. What stood before him was not the arrogant Percy he remembered, but instead was a broken man. There were severe bags under his eyes and his hair was nearly as unruly as Harry's. His eyes were puffy and it was apparent that he had been crying recently.

"What do you need?" Percy said emotionlessly.

"I didn't know you moved back into the Burrow -" Harry began.

Percy cut him off, "What do you need"

Harry felt a bit relieved that Percy skipped over all of the small talk and wanted to get down to business. Still standing in the doorway, Harry replied "Your patronus charm".

"Surely that cannot be it? Yes, it is a complex charm, but many people have learned it these past few years as a precaution. You must need me for something more than that" Percy said suspiciously.

"Well, technically that is all I need you to do" Harry said broadly. "There will be a dementor in a room, and I just need you to help push it into a predetermined area"

"Why? And why me? You said there was a chance to make everything the way it should be, what did you mean by that?" Percy questioned. This is the answer he so desperately wanted the answer to.

Harry noticed Percy had stepped aside, and continued past him into the house he once considered a second home. Smiling the slightest bit, he entered the kitchen and sat down at the table, his hands folded. Percy took the seat directly across from him. "Because I know you're grieving for your family..." Harry said softly "I know you're willing to do whatever it takes to get them back. It's a long story and you don't need to know all of the details, but I have found a way to go back in time."

"That's not possible" Percy shot back

"While nobody has done it before, I met a man that works in the ministry who believes that it is possible" Harry explained, "Extremely risky, but theoretically possible"

"Well still, why is my grieving important to you? What do you mean when you say that I'm willing to do _whatever it takes_?"

"You're willing to do what is right in order for the greater good" Harry replied. "In order for this to be possible, you're going to have to let me be kissed by a dementor."

Percy's face whitened, but he stood tall "I'm assuming it has something to do with detatching your soul from your body then?" Percy said academically.

"That's correct" Harry replied "I then need you to banish the dementor through a specific veil, which will allow my soul to travel back in time".

"And you're coming to me then because you think I will stand by and watch the great Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, gamble with his life?"

"No, I'm coming to you because I don't think you see me as _Harry Potter Savior of the Wizarding World. _I think you see me as a normal human being, which I actually appreciate quite a bit. By risking one life, you have the potential to save your mother, your father, your brothers… and Ginny… It is a sacrifice for the greater good." Harry breathed

"The greater good…" Percy mumbled. After a few seconds, he continued, "Harry.. you know I don't think as highly of you as the rest of the world, but to risk your life… " Percy looked past Harry and was fixated at some point on the wall. Harry cautiously turned around and saw that Percy had been starting at the special clock Mrs. Weasley had which showed the location of everyone in the family. At one time, the clock had eleven arms. One for each of the eight Weasleys, and one for Harry, Hermione, and Fleur Delacour. The clock only had two arms remaining, and both were pointing to HOME. "They would kill me if they knew I was considering this.." Percy continued "I disappointed them with so many of my choices in life; I can't disappoint them in death too"

"I'm doing this Percy" Harry said sympathetically. "If you say no, I'm going to do it anyways. However, there will only be one person casting a patronus. While your family would kill me if they knew that I was going to do this, there is nothing you can do to stop me. Your option is simply to help me, or do nothing. I know you want a second chance at all of this, and I know that if we have two patronuses against this dementor, the chances of this working will be much higher. We can save them."

Percy stared at Harry's eyes for a few seconds, and saw the fire raging within them. He knew that Harry wasn't bluffing about doing this regardless of whether or not he helped. "Promise me you won't let me be a prat next time around"

Harry let out a small laugh, but quickly regretted it as he saw Percy was completely serious "I promise"

"Alright, now tell me exactly how this is all possible…"

After discussing the potion along with the necessary process they must follow, Percy asked "How far back do you plan on going? Can you just go back far enough to kill Voldemort before he ever rises to power?"

"No. I've thought about that but when my soul is released from the veil, I must have a body present in the world for the soul to merge into. So the earliest I could go back would be when I was a born, but that would be pointless as I wouldn't be able to do anything while in a baby's body." Harry rationalized. "So I need to find the earliest time which will allow me to begin making significant changes to the timeline"

"Well when were you thinking then?" Percy questioned

"I want to go back to when I was seven" Harry stated. "There's a certain prisoner in Azkaban who deserves to be set free"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry sat at in the kitchen of 4 Privet Drive on Saturday afternoon with Malcolm McGonagall and Percy. For it being such an important meeting, the mood was surprisingly relaxed. Malcolm McGonagall, being the expert, led the discussion.

"Alright so we all know the basic process, but now it's time to get a bit more detailed," Mr. McGonagall began, "The Ministry has tightened security considerably ever since Harry and his friends were able to stroll in without any obstacles a few years back."

"I would hope so," Harry cheekily replied. He had figured the Ministry would have put some precautions in place after his break in, but over the years he had learned never to overestimate the Ministry's intelligence.

"Yes, well there are two layers of security now. First, the elevator will not travel to the Department unless an Unspeakable presents his wand in a scanner located within the elevator. Obviously, this will not be a problem since I will be accompanying you. The larger issue is the two guards that stand outside of the entrance to the Department. It is strictly forbidden to bring guests into the Department given the confidential nature of our work, so we will have to incapacitate them in order to get through."

Percy's face whitened, "Attack security personnel at the Ministry? That's a ticket straight to Azkaban."

Harry ignored Percy's outburst and turned back to Mr. McGonagall, "Assuming we are able to stun them, how long will we have before someone notices they are unconscious?"

"I would give us about seven minutes before Aurors notice something is wrong. We will have maybe eight minutes before they arrive."

"Will we have enough time?" Harry asked.

"I believe so," Mr. McGonagall replied. "Luckily, we have a dementor stored within the Department already so it will only take a few minutes to move it to the chamber containing the Veil."

"You have a dementor already in the department?" Harry said skeptically.

"Yes, when we began our initial research a few years ago we needed to study a dementor. The Ministry provided us with one that was stationed in Azkaban to use in our experiments. Unfortunately, by the time our project was scrapped the dementors had already abandoned Azkaban and were no longer under the Ministry's control. So rather than releasing it into the wild and endangering others, we decided to keep it locked in a spare room within the Department."

"Well that makes sense," Harry said. "So let's say moving the dementor into the Chamber takes five minutes, which leaves us with only two minutes. That will be cutting it extremely close."

"The potion is simply a few ounces, so you can drink it with just one gulp. As I've said before, once you take the potion you will only have 77 seconds to live. In that time, the dementor must administer a kiss and we must banish it through the Veil. After taking the potion, you should position yourself laying down directly in front of the Veil. This dementor has not been able to feed on humans in a long time, and will hurry over to administer the kiss. This should only take about 50 seconds to complete. So we have 27 seconds remaining to banish the dementor through the Veil. Given that it is positioned directly in front of it already, this should only take about 10 seconds. So we will have completed the entire process with 17 seconds to spare," Mr. McGonagall said. It was obvious he had thought deeply about this already.

Harry understood how tight that time window was, but appreciated Mr. McGonagall's preciseness. It was obvious that he was related to Professor McGonagall. There was one final matter that still needed addressing though. "How do you get out?" Harry asked.

Mr. McGonagall looked at Percy, who nodded solemnly in return. "We don't," Mr. McGonagall admitted.

Harry's expression hardened, "But as Percy said, you'll go to Azkaban for this."

Percy finally spoke up, "Yes, we will. Malcolm had failed to mention to me that we would have to attack Ministry Security in order to do this, so I'm sorry if I sounded concerned earlier. I'm more than willing to go to Azkaban for a chance to get my family back. I messed up in this life, and this is my one shot to make everything right. I'll do whatever it takes and accept the consequences if it fails."

Harry turned to Mr. McGonagall, "And you're willing to go to Azkaban as well?"

Mr. McGonagall replied confidently, "This is my life's work. This project took up a large majority of my life for years. This will work, the timeline will change, and it we won't go to Azkaban because none of this will even occur in the other timeline."

Harry looked at him curiously, trying to determine if he was trying to convince himself or Harry that his plan would work.

"Harry, this is a necessary and calculated risk that we are both willing to take on. You're risking your soul on this. Don't worry about us." Percy said wisely.

"You're sure?" Harry said one last time, looking at both Percy and Mr. McGonagall.

After giving Harry a reassuring nod, Mr. McGonagall asked, "So when is the exact date you wish to travel back to? I need to make adjustments to the potion depending on the date you choose."

"I need to go back to August 23rd, 1987."

"What's special about that date?" Percy questioned.

"It's a long story, but I have a plan to get Sirius Black out of Azkaban," Harry said vaguely. "I'll be meeting you much earlier in this timeline."

"But by going so far back, aren't you risking messing up the entire timeline? Half of your advantage in this adventure is the fact that you will have foresight of things to come. What if your changes make it so that the timeline becomes unrecognizable to you?"

"I'll deal with the changes as they come," Harry responded. Percy didn't seem too impressed with his answer.

"Are you going to tell anyone that you are from the future? If the Ministry found out about you, they would chuck you in the deepest cell within Azkaban," Percy warned.

Harry had been thinking this over for the past few days, and still was struggling with the answer. "I don't think so," he replied. "At least not at first. Dumbledore has warned me before of the dangers of tampering with time, and I'm afraid that he would not react well if he learned the truth. He may attempt to wipe my memory in order to have me react naturally to all the events that unfold, hoping that it will lead to us winning the war once again."

"Why would he do that though? From how Minerva described him, he doesn't seem like the type of the person that would forcefully wipe someone's memory," McGonagall questioned.

"I think he was still obsessed with the idea of the greater good at the time. I mean he has a valid point. We did win the war, and there is a chance I make some mistakes in the past and more people die than in this timeline. Hell, I may even die and never defeat Voldemort. But this is a risk I'm willing to take. With knowledge of the future on our side, we will have the advantage."

"Well what about Sirius? What about…" Percy swallowed, "…my family? What about Ginny?"

"I plan on telling them eventually, but not right away. They won't know me when I go back, we will have never have had any kind of interaction. By telling them right away, I don't know how they would react. I need to build some kind of relationship with them first. Plus, they will need to learn Occlumency before I can tell them anything. I can't risk someone performing Legilimency on them and learning my secret," Harry rationalized.

"Don't you think that you'll be manipulating them a bit? Forging a friendship based on lies?" Percy shot back. "Don't you think it may be wiser to leave them alone? They would be safe without you in the picture."

Harry's temper rose immediately, "I want your family to be alive just as badly as you do! Family runs much deeper than blood. _Plus they are my too!_ I married your sister; I made a promise to protect her. If not meeting your family guaranteed their safety, I would do that in a second. But the problem is, the Weasley family is known for being full of blood-traitors. Death Eaters know your parents fought in the first war. Your… no _our_… family will be targeted regardless. And you know what else the Weasley family is known for? They are known for standing up for what is right. They are known for being courageous. There is a reason they were all sorted into Gryffindor. They will not stay put if Voldemort returns; they will stand up and fight."

Percy stepped back, a guilty look upon his face. "You're right," he replied. "I guess I missed out on that courage gene."

Harry's temper subsided as he saw the hurt look upon Percy's face; he knew that Percy was sincerely sorry for what he said. "You showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts when nobody expected you to. You didn't choose to go into hiding, you were forced to. You're risking going to Azkaban in order to save your family. I don't think you missed that gene."

McGonagall saw that the argument had concluded and stepped back into the conversation, "So, when do you want to do this Harry?"

"As soon as possible" he replied.

"I just need to make some alterations to the potion, so how about tomorrow night at midnight? It will be a Sunday night, so the Ministry should be pretty vacant."

"That work with you Percy?" Harry asked.

Percy nodded in return.

"Tomorrow night it is."

~~Please let me know what you think! I had a surprising amount of trouble writing a few parts of this chapter, so feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, let me know what you think of my characterization of Harry and Percy! I don't anticipate Percy being a huge part of the story, but writing him was difficult and I'm curious how you guys perceive him.

As I said in the first chapter, I know there are some mistakes in chapters 1-9... My betas will be going over it soon enough, so just try to hang in there... once you hit chapter 10 it will be much more polished!


	3. The Kiss

"Kreacher," Harry called from the kitchen of 4 Privet Drive. It was Sunday evening, and the house was vacant. He had still yet to return to Grimmauld Place, as he was afraid the media would find him there. Kreacher immediately apperated next to Harry, as a house elf always hears his master's call.

With a deep bow, Kreacher said, "Master Harry. Do you wish to be served supper?"

Although Harry had only summoned him so that they could say a proper goodbye, his stomach was growling. Harry had yet to tell Kreacher that he would be leaving this evening, either to another timeline or to an afterlife. He looked at his friend and replied, "Yeah, that would be great. But make it a dinner for two. I have a special guest eating with me."

Kreacher looked at his master, and asked "What would you like to eat?"

Harry thought for a moment, as a small smile ran across his face. "Do you remember the night Ginny and I got married?"

"Of course I do Master Harry," Kreacher replied. That the happiest day of Kreacher's life, although that wasn't saying much. Master Ginny had always treated him remarkably, even given his hostility towards her when they first met. Kreacher bit his tongue hard, a small form of punishment for how he used to treat his Master. He couldn't allow Master Harry to see him punishing himself, as he had forbidden it many times before. But Kreacher knew that his actions towards Master Ginny had been atrocious, and he couldn't allow himself to go completely unpunished.

"Well, do you remember what we had for dinner that night?" Harry asked. That was the happiest day of his life as well. Their lives had been full of death and despair for months, but Ginny was the one spot of happiness in his life. Exactly one year after the Battle of Hogwarts, they got married in a small chapel in Godric's Hallow. The remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix attended, and only a few members of the Weasley family remained. This was one day where Harry and Ginny were able to focus on their own happiness. After arriving back to Grimmauld Place, Harry lifted Ginny off of her feet and began leading her towards the stairs. During their excitement to get upstairs, they nearly tripped over Kreacher. Kreacher offered to make them a late dinner, as they didn't have a reception and were desperately hungry. Ginny rolled out of Harry's arms and told him that she was going to be a 'proper house-wife' to her new husband and cook for him. Kreacher immediately began telling her that was not necessary, and to go be with her husband while he took care of the cooking. What kind of house elf would allow his Master's wife to cook dinner on their wedding night? Seeing the distress in Kreacher's eyes, Ginny told him that he could help her cook. Together, they made a full three-course meal which included a delicious Onion Soup, Rosmary Chicken with grilled vegetables, and some ice cream with homemade whipped cream. Harry's smile got a little bigger as he remembered licking the whipped cream off of the tip of Ginny's nose.

Kreacher let out a smile as similar memories came to the forefront of his mind, "Of course I do Master Harry. I remember that day very well. It will be prepared exactly how Mistress Ginny and I prepared it the first time."

Harry looked at Kreacher's eyes and saw a small fire beneath them. He knew how much Ginny meant to Kreacher, as her acceptance of him was a turning point in the old elf's life. He would be cooking this meal with her in his mind, and would not disappoint. "Thank you Kreacher, just let me know when it's ready."

Kreacher disapperated back to Grimmauld Place in order to cook. Little did he know, he was potentially cooking his Master's last meal.

Thirty minutes later, Kreacher arrived back in the kitchen of Privet Drive. He looked around and saw Harry sitting at the kitchen table with the silverware already set. However, the seat directly opposite of Harry was empty. Confused, Kreacher said, "You did not need to set the table Master Harry. Do you wish for me to come back when your guest arrives? I can keep the food warm at Grimmauld Place if you wish."

Harry smiled and said, "Funny enough, my guest did just arrive and he is carrying trays that are twice his size. Take a seat. And setting the table is the least I could do, I know I'm complete rubbish at cooking and wouldn't force Voldemort himself to eat my food."

Kreacher looked at him confused. A house elf never eats with his master. He serves his Master dinner, then makes himself something after his Master if finished eating. Although Harry had always been kind to him, and would occasionally invite Kreacher to eat with him (which Kreacher would always deny, claiming he wasn't hungry), they had never had a sit down dinner together. After giving it a bit of thought, Kreacher wasn't sure if any elf in history has had a sit down dinner with their Master.

After seeing the conflict on Kreacher's face, Harry got up from the table and pulled out Kreacher's chair for him to sit. After a few moments, Kreacher seemed to snap out of his shock and hesitantly sat down. Harry took his seat across the table.

They chatted aimlessly over the course of the meal, recalling some of the best moments Harry had with Ginny. While eating dessert, Harry finally brought up that he would be leaving tonight.

"Kreacher, I need to tell you something…"

Kreacher had suspected there was a reason for Harry asking for such a special meal. After studying Harry for a moment, Kreacher sighed. He was sure that he knew what Harry was about to tell him. "Kreacher has just served Master Harry his last supper," Kreacher said wisely.

Harry nodded. "And it was delicious," he began, "But Kreacher, before I leave this timeline I need you to understand the good you've done. You are the entire reason any of this is possible. You kept me alive during the war. After each and every friend I lost, you were always a constant. You fed me, cleaned up after me, and kept me focused on my mission even after I lost Ginny. Without you, I very likely would have cracked during the war."

Kreacher responded, "Master Harry was destined to defeat the Dark Lord. Kreacher did what any house elf would have done and took care of his Master."

Harry continued, "I'm not too sure about that. But even if that is true, I only have one house elf, and that is you. I know you were in a dark place for a very long time and had you not climbed out of it, I doubt I would be here. Plus, even after the war you have kept me alive. When I sent you away a few days ago, I truly thought that was for the last time. But somehow you pulled off a miracle and found a way to save me. I know that isn't something 'any house elf would do'. I just want to thank you Kreacher for everything you've done. I want to thank you for being my friend, for saving me, and potentially saving Ginny along with the rest of my friends."

Kreacher bowed deeply, tears falling out of his eyes onto the floor below. Looking up at Harry, he said "Master Harry, you saved Kreacher as well. Kreacher could have never hoped for a better Master, and he is still sorry for how he treated Master Harry and his friends when he first met them."

Harry attempted to console him, "I once had a professor that made terrible choices when he was younger. He chose to follow the Dark Arts and joined Voldemort as soon as he finished schooling. Then one day, he realized his mistake. He joined the Light side and became a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. He risked his life every single day in order to correct the wrongs he made. It is not the choices we _made_, but rather the choices we _make_ today which determine who we truly are. This man was one of the bravest people I know, and I have nothing but respect for him. The same goes for you Kreacher. I don't care how you once were. You're good now and that's all that matters."

Kreacher nodded appreciably, understanding what his Master was trying to say. "Master Harry-" he began nervously.

Seeing how hesitant Kreacher was, Harry said, "I want you to forget you're a house elf and instead just be my friend. Say whatever is on your mind."

Kreacher took a moment, and then continued, "Kreacher was a bad elf before. And he knows that if Master Harry is successful in his experiment that Kreacher will be a bad elf once again. Kreacher does not want to order his Master to do anything, but if Master Harry could try to get Kreacher to become a good elf once again, Kreacher would appreciate it."

"Of course Kreacher, you didn't even have to ask. I know how lonely you were over those years and no matter how much you curse at me to begin with," Harry let out a chuckle, "I know you have a lot of good in your heart, and I'll make sure it shines though."

Harry looked at his watch, it was nearing 10:00pm already and he needed to make his way to the Burrow to meet up with Mr. Mcgonagall and Percy. He looked at Kreacher, knowing this would be the last time he spoke with his friend casually in a long time. He stepped forward, bent onto his knees, and wrapped Kreacher in a hug. Although this was very against house-elf customs, Kreacher hugged him back without hesitation. "Goodbye Master Harry," Kreacher choked through sobs.

"Don't worry Kreacher, I'll be seeing you again soon."

Harry arrived at the Burrow a few minutes later, and Percy opened the door before Harry was able to knock. Percy looked distinctly different from the previous few times Harry had seen him. His hair was tamed in the most Percy-like manner, and he was wearing a sky-blue button down shirt with a blazer. Had it not been for his eyes, he would have looked like the ambitious Percy that Harry once knew. His eyes no longer burned with a fiery ambition, exactly the opposite in fact. They showed signs of age, loss, hurt, anxiety, and very little sleep. His eyes resonated with the death and despair that they have witnessed. They showed a tired man on the brink of collapse.

Harry nodded at him as he entered the Burrow for possibly the last time. Harry had arrived a few minutes early, knowing that this trip would be short lived as they were going to depart as soon as Mr. McGonagall showed up. He walked through the living area as if he were a ghost, in complete silence and truly absorbing everything around him.

He moved to the kitchen, which hosted many of his memories of the Burrow. He looked at the kitchen table, which looked abnormally bare since it usually had a large feast upon it. He pulled out the chair that the Weasley's which had honorarily made 'his seat'. Although they were joking around when they deemed it 'his seat', the fact that he had his own seat was still a remarkable idea to him. Before this, he never had his 'own seat' at a kitchen table. Although he thought of the Weasley's like family even before he married Ginny, he had always assumed that he was still considered a bit of a guest any time he came over. He knew they loved him and thought of him as a great friend, but a guest nonetheless. When they offered him an honorary chair, everything in his mind changed. He felt like a part of a real family, which was a feeling he had never experienced before.

He took a seat in 'his seat' and closed his eyes. Memories from throughout the years were overwhelming him. He could practically hear the small conversations about work, school, friends, and family. Eventually, he opened his eyes and glanced towards the staircase. He thought of the squeal that Ginny made during his second year when she realized that Harry Potter was in her house. He had teased Ginny mercilessly about that moment throughout the years. Anytime he went downstairs in the morning and found Ginny sitting in the kitchen, he would let out a squeal and run up a few stairs loudly. The portrait of Mrs. Black would start yelling ferociously, but it was well worth it.

While Percy stood at the front door waiting anxiously for Mr. McGonagall's arrival, Harry decided to give himself a final tour of the house. He walked up the stairs, instinctively skipping over a vanishing stair that George had installed. George had lost his passion for jokes for nearly a month after Fred's death, and this was the first prank he had pulled without Fred. Although Mrs. Weasely knew the countercurse, she kept it there as a symbol of George pulling out of his depression.

Harry took a quick walk through Ron's room, remembering his best friend. His room was eerily quiet without the ghoul pounding away at the pipes in the attic. As he walked out the door, he smiled at the Chudley Cannons poster on the door. They had yet to win a game in their lifetime, and Harry highly doubted he could change this in the next timeline.

Walking down from Ron's room, he instinctively skipped another step. This time, it was a squeaky one that was outside of Ginny's door. He laughed to himself, thinking of all the times he snuck down from Ron's room to innocently sleep with Ginny. She had always fit so well in his arms. He opened the door and sat on her bed. He remembered the first time he had been in here. It was on his seventeenth birthday when Ginny invited him up to her room and kissed him soundly, which he considered his best birthday present ever. That had been the best kiss of his life, and the memory of it had been used in a few patronuses. He heard Percy and Mr. McGonagall chatting quietly in the kitchen. He figured Percy must know he's taking one last look around the house and was appreciative that he gave him a few moments. He took one last glance back at her room vowed to himself that he would get her back… and he would not lose her again.

He arrived back in the kitchen and found Mr. McGonagall wearing his bright blue robes. After going over the plan one last time, they made their way to the edge of the Burrow's property. Glancing back at the Burrow one last time, Ron's voice ran through his mind 'It's not much, but it's home'. Harry smiled softly, thinking about how accurate that statement was. Harry turned around and walked off of the property with Percy and Mr. McGonagall. They apperated next to a run-down telephone booth in London. Squeezing inside, Percy dialed 62442 and they began their decent into the Ministry.

After presenting their wands at the check-in station without any issue, other than a look of surprise from the attendant as she saw Harry, they made their way across the deserted Atrium and stepped into an elevator. Mr. McGonagall presented his wand in a small opening, and proceeded to press the number 9. The elevator shot off in a diagonal direction. Harry looked over at Mr. McGonagall, who was calm and collected. He then looked at Percy, whose hands were trembling and it appeared as though he may be sick. He understood where he was coming from though, as he would be sent to Azkaban if this failed. He felt a rush of admiration towards Percy, as he fully understood what he was risking. Azkaban was full of captured Death Eaters, and Percy would very likely be dead within the week if he was sent surrounded by them. Harry was not the only one risking his life.

Harry grasped Percy's shoulder and looked at his barren eyes. "You okay?" he questioned.

Percy nodded, afraid that he would vomit if he opened his mouth.

"I probably won't get time to say anything once this all begins, but thank you Percy. You truly are a Weasely, and don't you ever forget that."

Percy swallowed and took a deep breathe, "You are too."

Just then, the elevator came to a screeching halt. Harry, Percy, and Mr. McGonagall drew their wands, and all shouted 'Stupefy' before the doors were even completely open. The guards immediately went down, and they scurried out of the elevator and through the door leading to the Department of Mysteries. They were officially on the clock, and had eight minutes before Aurors would arrive. Only eight minutes before Harry's ultimate fate was determined.

Mr. McGonagall led the way into the Department. In the main lobby, there stood dozens of doors without any kind of marking on them. Harry and Percy followed Mr. McGonagall though a door located in the furthest corner. For being an older man, he was moving with incredible speed. Entering the room, they were faced with another dozen doors. Mr. McGonagall led them through another without hesitation. They were then presented with three more doors. Mr. McGonagall turned to them and quickly said, "The dementor is in the room on the right. Cast your patronuses now to the left and right side of the door. I'll cast mine to enter the room and push the dementor forward. Just keep your patronuses on the left and right side of the dementor as we head back, I'll be pushing it forward in the correct direction."

Harry quickly thought of Ginny's lips upon his. He thought of dinners with the Weasley family. He thought of Sirius' arm around his shoulder. After shouting 'Expecto Patronum' a magnificent stag emerged from his wand. He looked over at Percy, whose face was scrunched up in concentration and had tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Percy could not remember the last time he had a happy thought. The past few years had been full of nothing but hiding and despair. He was isolated, without anyone who cared for him. He had treated his family horribly, and they had no reason to love him. For how much planning he had done regarding this mission, he had overlooked this aspect. He didn't have a happy memory left in him.

Seeing Percy's struggle, Harry quickly said, "Percy, you're getting a second chance at everything! Think about that for a second! You're getting a chance to right your wrongs and to be with your family once again. Imagine how it can be different this time. Imagine how close you can be with your family this time around!" Harry had recalled that the first time he casted a patronus in Remus' office, it was based off of the idea of a memory with his parents more so than a memory itself.

Suddenly, a magnificent lion erupted form the end of Percy's wand. Percy stepped back in shock, as his patronus had always been an owl. Harry smirked, remembering that a patronus can change with a change in attitude. Percy was finally accepting the Weasley name, and that love for his family had brought out the lion.

Mr. McGonagall opened the door holding the dementor and called forth his patronus, a small cat. The cat swept into the room and pushed the dementor out of the door. Harry's stag and Percy's lion quickly gathered on each side of it, and they escorted the dementor back to the main lobby in the Department. Mr. McGonagall let them through one last door leading into the Death Chamber. In the middle of the chamber stood the mysterious archway that had claimed Sirius' life. Quickly, Harry pulled the potion Mr. McGonagall had made from his robes and downed it in one gulp. He had 77 seconds left to live.

Harry sprinted towards the archway and laid down directly in front of it as they had planned. Mr. McGonagall and Percy used their patronuses to gently push the dementor towards Harry, being careful not to send it through the archway yet. The dementor didn't need much pushing, as it was starving and saw Harry lying vulnerably. It glided over towards Harry, and began to feed. Percy and Mr. McGonagall kept their patronuses active, but moved them a safe distance away from the dementor. The dementor didn't go for the kiss immediately, but rather slowly fed as it lowered its head for the kiss.

Harry heard Hermione's screaming, and suddenly he was watching Ron's memory of her being tortured once again. He saw a flood of dead bodies from every funeral he attended. And finally, he saw Ginny's ring finger in a small package; her wedding ring still attached.

Suddenly, he heard Percy scream. Surely his time wasn't up yet. He had at least had 35 seconds left to live. But then he heard the doors to the Death Chamber swing open, and he realized that the Aurors had arrived. Percy's difficulties casting his patronus had cost them some valuable seconds. The world around him momentarily stopped as Harry's mind scrambled for a solution. Percy and Mr. McGonagall would be incapacitated within seconds. He glanced over towards them and saw their attention was still focused on him. He looked Percy in the eye and shouted "NOW!" His lion lowered its head and charged towards the dementor, a small cat by its side.

The dementor's face was hovering above Harry's, still about two feet away from performing the kiss. Harry fought the memories that were flooding his mind and thought of Ginny. She was laying tauntingly over him, demanding a kiss. Harry took one last breathe, and inhaled the smell of strawberries. Tears streaming down his face, he sat up and kissed the dementor.

~~~~~~~Please review and let me know what you think so far! I check my email constantly hoping for reviews and some feedback, so just let me know what you're thinking! Also, I'm planning on posting shorter chapters pretty regularly so you can stay updated with my writing, and then consolidating some of them into longer chapters as I continue posting. So the chapter numbers may change a bit as we go, but all the content will stay the same!


	4. Yer a Wizard

Percy Weasley let out an excited yelp as he saw the dementor fall through the veil. Within few seconds, Harry's soulless body began twitching a foam escaped his mouth. Within seconds, his body stilled. Percy turned towards the Aurors with smile on his face, knowing that they sent Harry's soul through the veil in time. He heard an Auror scream, "THAT WAS HARRY POTTER!" before multiple flashes of green light soared towards him. He dropped to his knees, watching the killing curses approach. Right before the curses hit, everything became white and that moment ceased to exist.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was 3:30am on August, 23rd 1987. Harry Potter, age seven, laid in his cot in the cupboard under the stairs in a deep sleep.

He was sitting alone in the park that stood nearby his home, casually swinging on the swingset. He was grateful that this park was so close, as this was the place he would always go to in order to escape that place he called was forced to call home. It wasn't really a home, he was always a visitor. A visitor who cooked, cleaned, and tried to stay invisible as much as possible. So not really even a visitor, but more like a servant.

So he sat there on his swing, wishing that life was just a bit less cruel. He wished he had a mum to hold him, a dad to play soccer with. But he didn't. He had relatives that despised him, neighbors who looked at him like he was diseased, and he had this swing.

He swung higher and higher, much higher than any real swing would allow him to go. He could nearly touch the clouds in the sky. He liked to think his parents were up there somewhere, sitting on a cloud watching over him. He was close enough to the clouds now, so maybe if he jumped off he could see them. All he needed was a glimpse, just to know that they were there.

He pumped his legs a few more times, gathering all the momentum that his small body could muster. With one last push he jumped off of the swing at its peak and soared towards the clouds. He felt as though he was flying. He smiled as he thought that this was the best feeling in the world. He was just seconds away from breaking through the clouds when they turned black and lightening crashed through them. Harry yelled as he realized he could not stop his momentum and he would soon be forced through this electric cloud. As he broke through the cloud, he breathed a small sigh of relief as he was not injured. However, that breath quickly found its way back into him as he gasped at the image that stood on the other side of the cloud.

Floating before him were endless bodies. Still flying in an upwards path, he passed a small red-headed woman, a bushy haired woman, and a red-headed man. Each of their eyes were open, but unmoving and filled with death. Eventually, he began his decent and approached the black clouds once more. However, this time rather than breaking through the cloud he landed upon it with a crash. Looking up, he saw a snake-like man with red slits for eyes. The man looked at him and said in a death-like whisper, "Harry Potter; we meet again."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The silence of 4 Privet Drive was broken with a piercing scream. Harry awoke, and realized that scream was coming from his mouth. He quickly covered it, hoping that he didn't wake anyone in the house. However, the damage was already done. He heard Vernon get clumsily out of bed, swearing loudly as he made his way down the stairs.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, and his 22 year old self took in his surroundings. He glanced at the calendar that he had stuffed away in the corner. The date read August 23, 1987. "IT WORKED! Mr. McGonagall is a genius!" was the first thing that his mind registered. He had a newfound hope; this was his chance to save everyone he loved. He would not fail this time.

The second thing Harry's mind registered was that he was shaking, but it wasn't from excitement; it was from fear. Harry thought for a moment, and then rationalized that it was probably his younger self's natural reaction to hearing Vernon march downstairs. "Don't worry," Harry thought, "we are getting out of this place in just a few moments." All he needed to do was push Vernon past his breaking point.

Suddenly, the door to the cupboard flew open and Vernon shouted, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU YELLING ABOUT!"

Knowing his answer would not matter, but deciding that saying 'bad dream' would be a poor decision, Harry whispered, "Sorry, there was a spider."

"A spider…" Vernon began, "A SPIDER? I HAVE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MEETINGS OF MY LIFE TOMORROW AND YOU WAKE ME UP FOR A SPIDER?"

"I'm s-sorry," Harry stuttered.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!" Vernon screamed as he yanked Harry out of the cupboard by his hair.

Dudley and Petunia stood on the stairs, having awakened during this encounter. "DUDLEY, GET MY BELT," Vernon screamed. For being so late, Dudley's eyes were filled with excitement. He always loved this part, and he dashed upstairs to grab his father's belt.

Catching the belt that Dudley threw down, Vernon turned menacingly at Harry. "A spider has what… Eight legs?"

Harry closed his eyes. He turned his back on Vernon, accepting his punishment.

"Take off your shirt boy," Vernon commanded. He grabbed the belt clasp, letting the leather dangle. "And what do you think you're doing, turning your back on me? No, I want you to face me for this."

Harry slowly turned back around; his eyes staring at the leather strap. Normally, Vernon would just hit him on his back. That was bearable, but he knew this was going to hurt… badly.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of leather connecting with his ribcage. He exhaled deeply, and tears began flowing down his face. "I shouldn't be crying! I've dealt with so much worse, why can't I stop these damn tears! These damn seven-year old instincts…"

Harry looked down at his body; there was a bright red mark where the leather had connected with his skin. The skin was starting to swell, but he needed more. He wiped the tears out of his eyes and looked up at Vernon, almost willing him to hit harder.

Vernon looked back at Harry, and swung again. Again, Harry began to tear up but he quickly wiped the tears and looked at Vernon in the eye.

After the seventh hit, Harry looked down at his stomach. It was covered in distinct, red marks; but he still needed more. He had one chance to get out of this house; he needed to be sure he wouldn't be coming back. It was time for a bit of accidental magic.

As Vernon's arm came down for the last hit, Harry's arms flung up and he pointed his palms at the incoming belt. The belt quickly turned into a feather, and Harry was left unharmed… for a brief moment at least.

Vernon looked at the feather in his hand, and his face turned the deepest shade of purple imaginable. He stood there looking at Harry, his head shaking in fury. Without warning, he lunged forward, grabbed Harry around the neck, and threw him to the floor. He began kicking ferociously, and Harry could feel individual ribs break with each kick.

After what seemed like forever, the kicking stopped. Vernon grabbed him by the neck, threw him back in the cupboard, and locked the door. Harry let out a small sigh of relief as he heard Vernon march back upstairs. He just needed to be seen by a neighbor now for his plan to work. Something was wrong though. That small sigh of relief took too much air out of him. He gasped trying to inhale more air, but every breath became a little more difficult. He could feel his lungs slowly deflating, each breathe becoming less and less satisfying.

Harry began to panic; he didn't come back to the past to simply to die within minutes of arriving. He needed to get out of this house and to a hospital. He lifted his hands and did a small _alohomora_ charm in order to unlock the cupboard. He was glad that he mastered some very basic charms wandlessly in the old timeline. Unable to stand due to his ribs, he slowly crawled his way out of the front door.

As he crawled out of the front door, he needed to decide which neighbor to disturb. He quickly thought it over, and decided that he needed to go to a muggle neighbor's house. He decided to go two doors down, as he knew that both of his next door neighbors were good friends with the Dursley's. He wanted to go to Mrs. Figg's, as she would be the most sympathetic since he discovered years ago that she was a squib and kept an eye on him, but he was scared that she would go to Dumbledore. If she went to Dumbledore, than his destiny would be left in Dumbledore's hands. Harry was unsure how Dumbledore would react, as he knew Dumbledore placed a very high value on his mother's blood protection within the confines of his relative's home and he was concerned that he would simply obliviate the lot of them and claim it for 'the greater good'. He could obviously not let this happen, as he needed his current memories in order to save his friends.

He slowly crawled on the grass, rolling like a log at times in order to speed up the process. His body ached, and his breathes continued to deteriorate. Finally, he made it to the front porch of his neighbors home and crawled up the cement steps. With his vision slowly becoming black from the lack of oxygen, he stretched his arm for the doorbell and he rang it multiple times before passing out.

After a few moments, a man opened the door with a baseball bat in his arms. After seeing the unconscious child lying before him, he quickly dropped the bat and moved Harry carefully inside before phoning the police.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry heard the beeping of monitors and a low grumbling noise beside him. Confused as to what that second noise might be, he opened his eyes and found Hagrid sleeping in the armchair opposite his bed. Time for the acting to begin.

"Excuse me," Harry said loudly.

Hagrid's eyes shot open, "Sorry, nodded off a bit there…you've been out for a few hours."

"Oh, well where am I?" Harry asked.

"Erm.. I believe this place is called Lil' Whingig Hospital or somethin' of the sort. How are you feelin' though? I'm suppose' to check in with some people when you wake up."

"I'm fine. A little sore… but fine. Are you a doctor or something then?" Harry questioned.

Hagrid laughed, "Me? A muggle doctor? No lad, I'm just Hagrid."

"Well I'm just Harry," Harry replied.

"I know yer are," Hagrid said with a smile. "But I was just sent to watch over you a bit while you slept. But now that yer awake, I really should go check in with some people."

As Hagrid stood up to leave, Harry decided that he should look a bit shocked by the man's size.

"Woah!" Harry exclaimed, "What are you? A giant?!"

Hagrid chucked, thinking that Harry was referring to the giants muggles would read about in their fairy-tales. "Well, half o' one," Hagrid said as he winked and walked out the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hagrid walked into the room a few minutes later with a muggle doctor trailing behind him. What surprised Harry a bit more was to see Professor Dumbledore wander into the room after the doctor.

Harry hadn't seen his idol in years, and wanted nothing more than to tell him everything. He had been the sole reason that he was able to defeat Voldemort in the previous timeline, and he had taken Harry under his wing towards the end of his schooling. That night on the Astronomy Tower many years ago, this man sacrificed his life in hope of a greater good. He accepted death knowing that it was necessary in order to bring Voldemort down. And now he stood before Harry, but Harry could not tell him his secrets. Dumbledore has proven time and time again that he pursues the greater good and he would likely see any downfall of Voldemort as a successful outcome, regardless of the casualties along the way. Harry respected his viewpoint and understood the logic behind it, but he simply disagreed what would be considered a 'successful outcome' and would not let history repeat itself.

Harry ripped his eyes from Dumbledore and paid attention to the muggle doctor, who was looking over at the monitors and scribbling some notes on a clipboard.

"Erm, am I going to be alright?" Harry asked.

The doctor looked at him sympathetically, "Well yes, you had two collapsed lungs but luckily we got you here in time to fix those up. Also, practically all of your ribs are broken but those will heal with time. It may take a little while, but you'll end up being all right." The doctor hesitated before continuing, "I'm sorry I have to ask this champ, but we need to verify how you sustained these injuries… From what it looks like, I would say a belt and either a foot or fist…"

Harry nodded.

"And, we believe that your uncle was involved… is that correct?" the doctor said softly.

"I'm not supposed to tell…" Harry mumbled. Those words slipped out of his mouth without conscious thought. _'It must be those seven-year old instincts' Harry thought. _He was initially just going to say yes, but his unconscious response probably seems more authentic anyways.

The doctor looked at him solemnly, "Well, I can promise you that you won't be returning to that home."

Harry looked away from the doctor and towards Hagrid, who's face looked like it was about to explode. His fists were clenched and his hands were shaking as he tried to control himself. Harry then looked towards Dumbledore, who's eyes had a fire lit beneath them. "The doctor is right Harry," Dumbledore began, "You will not be returning to that house.".

Harry looked at him, hoping desperately that he would reach the conclusion Harry was hoping for. "Then where will I go?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore looked at the doctor, who took it as his sign to leave. With a quick backwards glance the doctor said, "I'll be back shortly to give you some medicine for the pain."

"Well Harry, it is an extremely long and fascinating story… but in short, you'll be living in my school for the next few weeks until we can find you a permanent home. That is, if that's acceptable to you. Term starts in about a week and the school will be filled with children. They will all be older than you, but I don't want you to think you're going to be locked in a classroom for a few weeks. All the children stay at the school during the term, so you should be able to have a deal of fun. Don't think of this as similar to the school you attend now… thing of it as more of a boarding school for extremely special children."

Harry's smile reached across his face, he had been hoping that Dumbledore would reach this conclusion. He knew that Dumbledore valued his safety above all else, and now that he could no longer benefit from the protection 4 Privet Drive offered, Hogwarts was the next safest place. And there was someone special coming to Hogwarts this year, and Harry happened to know that he would be bringing a certain rat with him. "That sounds awesome!" Harry exclaimed. However, he said that a bit loudly which resulted in a sharp pain coming from his ribs.

"We also have some special doctors at our school that will be able to heal your ribs much faster than this doctor expects," Dumbledore said mysteriously. "We will be asking for your release within the next day and then transfer you to the school immediately."

"But how will you do that?" Harry questioned. "Aren't my Aunt and Uncle still my guardians? How can you convince the doctors to move me without their permission?"

"Well… The doctors are under the impression that I am your grandfather. Which is unfortunately not true, but it will help expedite the process. On that note though, I'm going to go sort out some paperwork asking for your release given we will have some kind of 'home care' for you. Now, I don't know if you remember this at all… and I apologize if it brings up some bad memories… but yesterday you did the most marvelous thing to your uncle's belt. I'll leave Hagrid here to explain that to you," Dumbledore said has he turned to leave the room.

Hagrid, who had settled down over the past few minutes, leaned in close to Harry before saying the same words that Harry remembered hearing years ago. "Yer a wizard, Harry."

~~~~I really struggled to write this chapter, mainly because I was unsure of how I wanted to handle Harry. The direction I'm going to go is he has the memories and thoughts of a 22 year old, but some instincts of a seven year old. Please let me know what you think! Let me know if this chapter seemed kinda jumbly or confusing at all, because that was my biggest concern.


	5. Your Mother's Eyes

~~~~ **NOTE: added material ****about 3/4 of the way down the page**** after the two lines of OOO's **

Hagrid sat next to Harry's hospital bed for the next few hours, describing the wizarding world to Harry. He spoke at length about Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and told Harry the story of his scar. Harry made sure to widen his eyes at appropriate times in order to look shocked, especially when he was told a brief version about the truth behind his parents' deaths.

Eventually, Harry dozed off to sleep. Hagrid was still sitting by his side, on guard for anything suspicious. Hagrid stared at the small child, questioning how anyone could hurt a hair on his head. When he had been describing the wizarding world to Harry, he could see the excitement in the boy's eyes. This was a new start for Harry, the start of a start of a better life. As Harry fell into a deeper and deeper sleep, his face became tense as if he were in a nightmare. Hagrid sighed as he figured it had something to do with his relatives, but thought it best to not wake Harry up as the doctor did say that he needed his sleep. Plus, even if he woke him up there was a good chance he would fall into the same dream the next time he fell asleep. Hagrid chided himself for not thinking to bring some Dreamless Sleep potion. After a while, Hagrid heard Harry whimper, "Ginny... My fault."

Hagrid assumed that Harry must know some girl named Ginny from school or something of the sort. Why she would be in his nightmare, he had no idea. But then again, dreams are rarely rational.

In the middle of the night, Hagrid heard a small knock on the door. Hagrid stood tall, ready to defend the injured child. However, he quickly relaxed as Dumbledore entered the room carrying a small potted flower.

Dumbledore set the flower on the bedside table, and gently woke Harry.

"Harry, it's time to leave," Dumbledore whispered.

Harry's slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were lined with tears and the whites of his eyes were a bloodshot. Dumbledore looked at the boy and frowned, "Bad dreams?"

"Yeah," Harry replied while quickly wiping his tears away. He knew that Dumbledore had no idea just how bad they were.

"I'm sorry, but from here on out it is my job to make sure that you have some better memories to dream about," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "And that starts with your first trip to Hogwarts. Not many people as young as you have ever been inside the castle, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience."

"I can't wait," Harry replied, "How are we getting there?"

Dumbledore pointed to the potted flower. "While this flower is beautiful and is a bit of a get well present from me, it also serves a secondary purpose. It is called a portkey, and all we have to do is touch it within the next few minutes and it will transport us to the Hospital Wing within Hogwarts where a very lovely lady by the name of Madam Pomfrey will be taking care of you."

"Wicked," Harry said. He could feel the excitement building up within him. He wasn't sure if it was because he would be returning to the building he loved for the first time in many years, or if it was because this was going to be his seven-year old self's first experience with magic.

"Won't the doctors wonder where I've gone?" Harry asked.

"It's all been taken care of," Dumbledore responded. "However, it does seem unlikely that you will be able to return to the school you attended. We will surely find you a new school, but those specifics will have to wait until we find you a proper home. We want to make sure we find the perfect home for you, so that may take a bit of time to sort out the specifics."

"I've never liked that school anyways," Harry replied.

"Well I really think you'll enjoy your brief stay at Hogwarts over the next few weeks. Hopefully that will show you that school can be a bit of fun. But on that note, we should be heading off. I know you're still injured, but this will not hurt a bit. After a few small modifications to the spell, I have made it so that you will be transported in a lying down position directly into a bed in our Hospital Wing. As Hagrid and I do not wish to be transported in bed next to you, we are going to get to Hogwarts by another means but I will be checking in on you in just a few minutes. Are you ready to go?"

Harry nodded, "I'm ready."

"Perfect then hold into this pot," Dumbledore said as he handed Harry the flower, Harry could not help but notice it was a lily. A small smile crossed Harry's face as he thought of his mother leading him into the wizarding world this time around. "And you'll be going in 3.. 2.. 1.. See you soon."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Before Harry could even open his eyes, he heard the footsteps of Madam Pomfrey rushing over to him. After disappearing his shirt and examining Harry's bruised body, Madam Pomfrey began pouring potions down his throat. She would briefly describe each one as he drank them, but he wasn't paying much attention. His mind was trapped in all of the memories of her taking care of him over the years. As much as he enjoyed her, hopefully he wouldn't be needing to see her as much in this timeline.

After a few minutes, Dumbledore came silently into the room, being careful not to disturb Madam Pomfrey while she was working. He sat on the bed next to Harry's and observed the boy as he was treated.

After about 15 minutes and twelve potions, Madam Pomfrey seemed satisfied with her work and took a seat on the stool next to Harry.

"Thank you, I am already feeling much better," Harry said gratefully.

"Well, you'll need your rest over the next day or two; but, everything is looking much better. I was able to mend all of your ribs and that purple potion you drank will make your deeper bruises heal within the next few hours. You may feel a little sore and tired over the next few days, but you'll be back at 100% in no time. Until then though, you need your rest." Madam Pomfrey explained. Harry couldn't help but notice the look of pity on her face. He felt a bit frustrated, as he hated the feeling of pity but he kept his temper in check mainly because he truly did appreciate her concern over his wellbeing.

"Poppy, would it be alright if Harry had some Dreamless Sleep Potion?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yes, that won't interfere with any of the other potions he's had," Madam Pomfrey stated. "I'll go grab some right now and be back in a jiffy."

Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry, "Although I'm sure you are anxious to explore, it really is time for you to get some rest."

Harry responded, "Professor, do you mind if I ask you a quick question before I go to sleep?"

"Ask away my boy," Dumbledore welcomed.

"Hagrid said my parents were wizards. Did they go here?"

"Yes, they did. This may give away my age, which I believe I mask wonderfully well, but I was headmaster even when they attended school."

"Can you tell me about them?" Harry questioned.

"You have your mother's eyes. She was an extraordinarily bright witch and was the best potion maker in her year. Charming girl, who always saw the best of people. I know for a fact that she has touched many lives, and her unwavering kindness has saved some individuals from a dreadful fate. I also got to know your father quite well. He was constantly in my office answering to some prank or another. You see, he and a few friends were notorious in Hogwarts for pulling pranks. The group of them were some of the very best pranksters to ever walk these halls; they actually were nicknamed the Marauders and even to this day teachers will cringe when they think about of havoc those boys caused. At some point, you almost expected to be pranked every time you turned a corner. Your father would make a big show of coming to my office to determine the appropriate punishment for his pranks, but I would give him detention with the professor of his choice we would have a quiet laugh about whatever prank he had pulled. Humor is a trait that can be overlooked in our world, but nothing is more important than bringing a smile to another's face."

Harry's smile grew larger and larger as Dumbledore spoke. It had been a while since he heard anyone speak of his parents.

"Is there any way I could meet the Marauders?" Harry asked with a little hesitation in his voice. He needed Dumbledore to grant this request. "I'd like to hear some of the stories they have about my Dad."

Dumbledore gave a small sigh, slightly regretting bringing up the Marauders to Harry. Harry knew that Dumbledore did not want to tell him the full truth about the night of his parents' deaths since he was still so young, but he also didn't want to keep Harry from learning more about his parents.

After a moment, Dumbledore said, "Unfortunately it will be impossible to get in touch with two of them, but I may be able to get in contact with one of them. His name is Remus Lupin, and he was the most logical of the Marauders and I'm sure he has many stories to tell that even I don't know about. He constantly had to talk them out of some of their bigger pranks that would have had some more serious consequences, so he will likely have some stories regarding some of their bigger plots."

Harry smiled and said gratefully, "I really would like to meet him. Thank you professor."

Madam Pomfrey walked back in the room and handed Harry a small orange potion. Dumbledore turned towards Harry and said, "Now get some rest, I'll go send Remus an owl right now."

With one quick gulp Harry downed the potion, and was in a dreamless sleep within seconds.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry awoke to a full breakfast on his bedside table, complete with eggs, toast, and chocolate-chip pancakes. Harry assumed the house elves were getting a little restless as they waited for the students to return, because there were enough pancakes to feed three full sized people – _'Or one Hagrid'_ Harry thought. He woke up in a much better mood than he had in a long time, probably because this was the first night in months in which he didn't have any nightmares. He had always known of the wonders of the dreamless sleep potion, but it was very difficult to brew and it was known to be extremely addictive – which made him swear it off in the last timeline. He didn't fully trust himself to be responsible with it if it was in his own hands, but the occasional dose from Madam Pomfrey wouldn't hurt. Plus, if he did deny it then that would look very suspicious.

A few minutes later, Dumbledore walked into the room carrying his own tray of food. "Glad to see you're awake Harry, do you mind if I join you for breakfast?"

"Of course," Harry said while moving into a sitting position on his bed. "All of this stuff looks great! Chocolate-chip pancakes are my favorite!"

"That doesn't surprise me. If memory serves me right; your father was always craving chocolate-chip pancakes. He and the rest of the Mauderers would go down to the kitchens and change the meal schedule for the house elves without them knowing. One week, I'm pretty sure we had chocolate-chip pancakes on the menu every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Dumbledore said with a smile on his face while recalling the fond memory.

Harry laughed, he had never heard this story before. After a few moments, he put on a bit of a puzzled look on his face and said, "What's a house elf?" Of course, he already knew what they were, but he remembered that he had no reason to know what they were.

"Ah, yes I should have explained. They are marvelous little creatures who are vital to the success of this school. They cook, clean, and take care of most of the day to day operations of the school. They love the work they do so much that they don't accept payment. However, we attempt to pay them with housing, care, and appreciation of their work. They are very prideful creatures, and want nothing more than to be praised. I will be sure to let them know how wonderful their pancakes were this morning."

"Thanks Professor, let them know that all of this is awesome. I've never been a good cook, so this is very much appreciated!" Harry replied.

"Nobody would expect a seven year old to be a very good cook," Dumbledore said softly. He knew Dumbledore was referring to his chore of cooking breakfast for the Dursley's. How Dumbledore knew of this, Harry was not sure. However, he was relieved that Dumbledore had found out this fact because he had mistakenly been talking about his lack of cooking skills later in life.

Harry gave Dumbledore a small smile then began eating. Dumbledore began filling him on details regarding the castle, the teachers, the ghosts, quidditch, and the grounds. He explained the four houses to Harry, and explained that there would be hundreds of kids running around these halls in just three days.

Filling up, Harry had slowed down his eating significantly. Although Dumbledore had only written to Remus last night, Harry was extremely anxious to know whether he would be able to see him. The entirety of his plan depended on him speaking to Remus at the right time. Looking up from his plate towards Dumbledore, Harry said, "Did you ever hear back from my dad's friend? I think you said his name was Mr. Lupin?"

"As a matter of fact, I was just about to bring that up with you. He sent me an owl this morning, and he can't wait to meet you. Unfortunately, he is a recovering from a bit of an illness, but he will be better within the next day or two. He said that he would visit the castle in a few days and that he may try to come the same day that all of the students arrive, as that is one of our larger feasts and he will be able to enjoy the sorting ceremony," Dumbledore said.

"Perfect! I can't wait to meet him!" Harry exclaimed. He assumed it was a full moon either yesterday or today, as Remus always needed a few days to recover following his transformation.

Changing the subject, Dumbledore said, "So, are you feeling up to taking a small tour of the castle today? Some teachers have arrived a bit early to prepare for classes and I'm sure they would love to meet you."

"Yeah, I can't sit in this bed any longer! When can we do that?" Harry replied excitedly. The seven year old inside of him couldn't wait to get out of this dang bed and go exploring, even if he already had memories from the castle.

"Poppy has already checked up on you while you were asleep and told me everything looks in order, so we can go whenever you're ready," Dumbledore said.

Harry jumped out of bed and stretched his short limbs, "Ready to go when you are!" He exclaimed.

"Off we go," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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Two hours later, Harry and Dumbledore were finishing up their cup of tea from Hagrid's. Dumbledore had shown him many of the common areas within the castle and also took him on a quick tour of the grounds, where they ran into Hagrid and accepted his invitation to join him for tea. Harry could feel his younger self in awe of the castle while he reminisced about all of the memories that occurred within these walls.

As Harry put down his empty cup Dumbledore looked at him closely, as if he was making up his mind about something. After a few seconds of uncomfortable staring, Dumbledore gave a small smile and seemed to make up his mind. Looking at Harry with much gentler eyes, Dumbledore said, "Harry - there is a professor that I think you should meet, if you aren't too tired yet."

Harry thought he knew which professor Dumbledore was speaking of, but Harry said, "I'm not tired. Who is it?"

"Wonderful," Dumbledore stated. "His name is Severus Snape, I suggest you call him Professor Snape though since he will be teaching you in a few years."

After saying goodbye to Hagrid, Harry followed Dumbledore back into the castle. Dumbledore led him to the dungeons and into what would have been an empty potions classroom, if it were not for the greasy haired man that stood behind countless flasks. He seemed like he was in his own world, with such complete concentration on his potion that he did not even notice Harry and Dumbledore enter the room.

Taking a moment, Harry looked at the man he loathed for years while in school, and whom he wrongly accused of murdering the man standing next to him. He looked at the man whom he grieved for months following his death. That greasy haired man was not the reason his parents were dead, but rather the reason that he was able to defeat the darkest wizard in history. In the previous timeline, that greasy haired man had been making up for his mistake for 17 years of his life, risking his life every step of the way in memory of Harry's mother.

That greasy hair man was _Professor_ Snape, and Harry silently vowed to make his life a little bit easier this time around. Although he was a bit of a bully to Harry while in school, this man had sacrificed everything in order to right his wrong and deserved nothing but respect.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore announced their presence. Snape's eyes rose, looking first at Dumbledore and then at the seven year old standing by his side. Immediately after looking at Harry's eyes, Snape's eyes grew large, but they did not break contact. Harry briefly thought of what must be going through Snape's eyes right now. In the previous timeline, Snape knew exactly when he would meet Harry so he was able to control his emotions beforehand. Plus, it had been 11 years since Lily's death, which gave him more time to cope. Now, Harry had caught him completely off guard, and it had only been five years since Harry's mother died. The normally emotionless professor looked like a deer in the headlights.

Snape continued looking into Harry's eyes, nearly willing Lily to come out of them. Finally, Snape said, "You have your mother's eyes."

Harry didn't know how to respond. In the previous timeline, he had never brought up Harry's parents, unless it was to say something ill of his father. Harry thought back to the last request of Snape in the previous timeline; his last words were asking Harry to look at him so he could see Lily's eyes. Harry looked at him curiously for a few seconds, before finally responding with the only thing that came to his mind, "You knew my mom?"

Snape seemed to regret what he said instantly, and his eyes grew narrow as he calmed his emotions. With an expressionless tone, he said, "I knew of her. It was a simple observation."

Snape then turned towards Dumbledore and asked, "What is he doing here?"

Dumbledore responded in a gentle tone, "Due to some unfortunate incidents, Harry is seeking a new guardian. He is simply our guest in the castle until the proper guardian is found." Dumbledore glanced down at Harry, putting a soft hand on his shoulder before looking back towards Snape. "I can fill you in on the exact situation later, but I just thought that you would like to meet Harry."

Harry looked up at Dumbledore, who had a knowing look in his eye as spoke to Snape. Snape rolled his eyes and said, "I'm currently working on a potion that can enhance the small traces of magic found within squibs, making them worthwhile to the wizarding community. It is an extraordinarily difficult experimental potion, consisting of 383 ingredients. Obviously, if I can find a way to perfect this, it can influence thousands of lives. I do not need to be distracted by your introductions while I work, Albus, let alone to a child. Now, if you would please let me return to my work."

Looking back towards his ingredients, Snape once again became engrossed in his potion making. Harry already knew that this potion would not work out, since such a potion never existed in his old timeline. Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile and said, "Come on, it's time for us to leave."

Harry followed Dumbledore into the Great Hall, where they had a light dinner with some other professors, all of whom gave Harry ample amounts of attention. Following dinner, Dumbledore led Harry into his office where there was a guest living quarters all set up for Harry. As Harry lay in bed, he began plotting for his next two days. These next two days were vital to his overall plan for this timeline and if they were not executed properly, Sirius may have to spend several more years in Azkaban.

~~~~** Please review** and let me know what you think! This was a bit of a slower chapter, but it's mainly just developing the plot. I have a lot of twists and turns planned so try to hang in there! I know some of these conversations may seem a bit forced, but Harry is going into may of them with a specific goal in mind - which would make it a bit forced.

**Also, please let me know what you think of the way I'm posting chapters**. At first I was posting short chapters frequently, but received feedback saying that people would prefer longer chapters. And being an avid reader myself, I know that people like frequent updates also. In response to this, I've been posting a base chapter of about 1600 words or so and then doing one or two additions to it of ~1000 words a piece. So the finalized chapter is about 3500 words or so.

I'm doing this so people that want to keep up to date with the writing can read the base chapter and receive a notification when I add an addition to it and read it immediately, but people who are reading it for the first time receive the benefit of longer chapters.

Please review or give me a PM with your opinion on this process, because I've been receiving some conflicting feedback and I just want to post the way my readers want! Thank you!


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

Please review and let me know what you think! Your thoughts really help me shape the story, so any feedback is welcome! Let me know what you think of the chapter or even just your thoughts on the story so far!

Also, embarrassing mistake but I got some faulty information from Google and had to make some quick edits to the story so that it is able to follow some of the logic I have planned. The only change is that Harry decided to go back to when he 1987 rather than 1986, so he is seven years old now rather than six. My apologies for that mistake!

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Harry awoke the next morning in his king-sized bed in Dumbledore's guest quarters. Although the bed was the most comfortable mattress his seven year old body had ever slept on, his sleep was disturbed by nightmares of the previous timeline. Last night he watched Sirius fall through the veil and disappear from his life. It was the first time he had that dream in a while, mainly due to all the nastier memories that filled his mind now-a-days, but pressure continued to build as Harry understood how vital these next two days were to Sirius' future. Sure, it would be deviating strongly from the previous timeline, thereby risking the validity of the knowledge he currently had from his old memories, but he could not stand by and let his godfather suffer for a crime he did not commit.

Rolling out of bed, Harry opened the plush blue curtains and was treated to a spectacular view of the lake. He wasn't sure if this was an enchanted window or if it actually had a view of the lake, but it did not matter. The view was beautiful either way.

Harry dressed and exited the living quarters and entered Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, which was overtaken by mounds of paperwork. Dumbledore looked up from his desk and said, "Hello Harry, sleep well?"

"That bed was brilliant," Harry replied. Technically, he was not lying since he simply ignored the actual question.

"That's good to hear," Dumbledore said, although Harry thought he saw a small look of concern on Dumbledore's face. Perhaps he had noticed that Harry went around the question and thought he was having nightmares of his relatives. Nonetheless, he still had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary with Harry, and this was vital to Harry's overall plan.

It was extraordinarily difficult to not tell Dumbledore his time-traveling secret, as Dumbledore was his mentor and idol in the previous timeline. The problem was, he simply could not risk his entire plan on Dumbledore's reaction to the news. On one hand, he could obliviate Harry in order to allow the previous timeline to play itself out exactly as before. Well, not exactly since Harry had already left the Dursley's house and that itself was a major deviation from the other timeline, but it would likely follow a similar pattern. If he did this, Dumbledore would be making a large sacrifice in order to vanquish Voldemort once and for all. However, Voldemort would be gone for good and there would be peace in the wizarding world.

On the other hand, Dumbledore could embrace the information Harry knows and use this in order to try to defeat Voldemort much earlier and save so many lives lost in the war. However, there is a risk that this time around they are unable to defeat Voldemort. Harry thought back as to how lucky he actually was to defeat him the first time around, and he wasn't so sure that he would be able to do it again. If Harry was defeated this time around, the death toll would be extraordinarily higher than the previous timeline.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Dumbledore; Harry was sure that he would act in a rational way and do whatever he thought was best, but the problem was that Harry was unsure which situation Dumbledore would prefer. This choice Dumbledore would be forced to make would be 'The Greater Good' vs. 'Saving Everybody'. Harry knew that Dumbledore had flip-flopped on these viewpoints throughout his life, but he was unsure of which viewpoint Dumbledore would have at this point of his life when looking at this situation. Harry understood both sides of the argument, and obviously felt that he leaned much closer towards the 'Saving Everybody' side, but he understood the opposing viewpoint.

"So, Professor, do you want to go down to breakfast?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately, today is looking like one of the busiest days of my life – which is saying something given my age." Dumbledore chuckled, "Each year, we send out hundreds of letters throughout the country with information regarding the upcoming term via owls. However, it seems that this year the anti-weather charm that is typically on the letters was casted incorrectly and Britain has seen heavy rainfall over the past few weeks. The result of this was hundreds of families receiving unreadable letters. It just came to my attention today, so I have to quickly send out all of these letters now since term starts tomorrow. Owl post takes much too long for such short notice, so I'm doing a bit of complex magic to transform each letter into something called a portkey which will have a destination set to each family's kitchen table. I had to get permission from the Ministry in order to create these portkeys, but I was able to take care of all of that this morning while you were still sleeping."

"That sounds like it's going to take forever," Harry observed, "Anything I can do to help?"

"No lad, I don't think that there is. But, it is looking like I'm going to be unable to entertain you much today. Would you be okay with going down to the Hall for breakfast without me? If you remember where it is of course. There will be a lot of professors there to keep you company while you eat," Dumbledore said. Harry could tell that he felt bad not being able to pay much attention to Harry today, but he did not mind – the castle could easily keep him entertained.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Harry replied. "I'll be able to keep myself entertained today, so you don't have to worry about me. I'll just go exploring the castle more and maybe go see Hagrid later."

"Thank you for understanding, Harry. Just remember to stay away from the Forbidden Forest. Come back to my office when you are ready for dinner and we can go down together."

With a quick nod, Harry turned and left. The privacy he was given today was actually going to be beneficial because he needed to nick something from Filch's office; a task that would be a lot more difficult with Dumbledore keeping him company.

Harry headed to the Great Hall for a quick bite to eat, where he chatted with Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. They both discussed what their classes taught, and described some of the spells they would be teaching on the first day to the new students.

After finishing his breakfast, Harry departed the Great Hall and made his way towards Filch's office. Harry figured he may as well try to get his errand over with as soon as possible, just in case he was unsuccessful in his first attempt.

While Harry walked towards Filch's office, he was lucky enough to encounter Filch looking very distressed and running in the opposite direction as him. Harry assumed Peeve's was preparing some traps for the student's arrival.

After arriving at Filch's office, Harry looked both ways down the hall. Verifying that it was deserted, he slipped into Filch's office and closed the door.

It had been a long time since he was in Filch's office and Harry was caught a bit off guard by the chains hanging on the wall. He remembered hearing stories of Filch begging Dumbledore to allow him the power to chain students up by the ankles for punishment, but he had forgotten that Filch actually had these chains polished and ready to use in his office. Harry had only been in this office one before during his second year, and during that trip his focus was on the QuickSpells envelope he saw laying on Filch's desk.

Turning to the filing cabinet, Harry thought back to Fred and George's stories – and after a few minutes of searching the non-alphabetized cabinet he found the file labeled _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous. _Within that file, there was only one sheet of parchment. Harry picked up the folded parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink appeared on the parchment and it showed the exact layout of Hogwarts along with the movement of everybody within the castle. Harry broke into a wide smile as his plan was slowly coming together. However, that smile quickly faded as he saw Filch's dot heading back towards his office. Knowing there was no way to leave the office without Filch seeing him, Harry quickly shut the filing cabinet and stored the Marauder's Map in his pocket after saying "Mischief Managed."

Filch opened the door just seconds later. Harry tried to remain calm, but it was a bit difficult given the situation. He needed the map in order for his plan to work, and if Filch made him turn out his pockets there was a chance (however small) he recognized the parchment he had confiscated from Harry's father years ago.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Filch spat at Harry. It was obvious that he was having a stressful day already and was looking for someone to take it out on.

"I was looking for you," Harry replied with a feigned innocence. "I was told that you were the one that could control that ghost named Peeves. I just wanted to tell you that I saw him in the boy's lavatory on the second floor earlier and he was laughing so he may have been up to something."

Filch looked extremely aggravated, "I wish I could control that stupid poltergeist. I've been cleaning up after him all day. I'll go check it out. But first, why the hell did you close the door if you were just waiting for me?"

Harry was stumped for a brief moment. He quickly looked around the room looking for an excuse and found one hanging polished on the wall. "I wasn't sure if other teacher's knew you had these chains, or if you were allowed to have them. I didn't want to get you in trouble if that was the case, so I closed the door."

Filch seemed satisfied with his answer and replied, "Well, technically I'm allowed to have them… but I'm not allowed to use them… yet…" Filch let out a smile as he pictured having the power to hang students by their ankles as punishment. "Anyways, next time wait outside of my office, otherwise you may find those chains on you." Filch opened the door and Harry took that as his cue to leave. Hurrying, Harry scrambled out of the small office and down the hall.

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Harry spent much of the next few hours simply exploring the castle further. He went to the Room of Requirement where a hottub awaited him. After undressing, he slipped into the steaming hot water. He rested against the jets and closed his eyes. Harry realized that this was the first time he had been truly alone since he had arrived in this timeline. Minutes after he arrived at the Dursely's, he was greeted by Vernon. Since then, he had been under watch either by Hagrid, Madame Pomfrey, or Dumbledore. Last night he had some alone time, but he was too exhausted from his long day to appreciate it. Harry's mind wandered as he began plotting what other changes he wanted to make in this timeline. First and foremost, he needed to free Sirius. Hopefully, that plan would be completed within the next few days. But what else should he change? Could he stand staying away from the Weasley family until he attended Hogwarts? What would be the consequences of meeting them early?

Also, there was the question of who he would tell his secret to and when. Dumbledore was out of the question until Harry was positive that he would react in a favorable way. The longer he waits the greater the chance is that Dumbledore allows him to keep his memories. As time goes on and Harry continues to make changes, the timelines will separate. Although that makes his memories less useful, it also makes it more and more unclear whether or not he would destroy Voldemort without his old memories.

If all of his memories were erased the second he arrived in this timeline, then the exact same situation would play out as in the old timeline and he would defeat Voldemort. But each day that Harry lives with his new memories and acts differently, that given result becomes less and less certain. If his memories were erased at this moment, the changes he has already made could result in a completely different timeline and may result in Voldemort defeating him. As time goes on and the timelines separate, Dumbledore will hopefully see that the benefit of Harry's information regarding Voldemort's Horcruxes and how to defeat him will outweigh the benefit of erasing his memories and hoping that the timeline will play itself out as it did previously.

Then there was the issue of his friends… could he really keep Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in the dark when he met them? Would it be fair to manipulate their lives without them knowing? He couldn't tell them yet – they were still just children and wouldn't fully understand the magnitude of what he was saying. He would have to wait until they got a bit older – but what if they hate him for lying to them for years? What if Ginny never forgives him? And even if she forgives him, what if she never even loves him?

Harry continued thinking about his friends for next few minutes before finally admitting that there was no easy answer on how to handle this situation and he would just have to make a gut decision about when they were ready to know his secret. The sooner the better, but they have to be ready to handle it.

Eventually, Harry got out of the tub and dried himself off with one of the plush towels lying conveniently in the corner of the room.

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Harry wandered the castle a bit more during the day, stopping by Professor McGonagall's classroom and talking with her for a bit. She told him about how she always transforms into a cat before her first-years walk into class and then transforms back into herself after they arrive in order to get them excited about the endless possibilities of transfiguration. Harry then asked her about human to animal transformations and she began telling stories of Harry's dad and all the subtle questions he asked her when he was becoming an animagus.

After about 30 minutes, Harry decided he had taken up enough of Professor Mcgonagall's time. He still had a few hours to kill before dinner, so he decided to head over to the Quidditch pitch in order to relive some old memories.

Harry arrived at the vacant pitch and went into one of the locker rooms. He thought back to all the times he was in this locker room shivering because Wood had them practicing in the rain for hours. He thought of Wood's passionate pregame speeches and the amount of encouragement he gave his team before they walked out onto the pitch for a match. He had never met anyone with as much passion for the game as Oliver Wood, and he would be sure that they won the Quidditch cup again in this timeline.

As Harry left the locker room, he passed the unlocked supply closet. After a slight hesitation, he opened the closet and pulled out one of the school brooms. It was battered and brittle, but a broom nonetheless. He knew he really shouldn't and would have a lot of explaining to do if anyone saw him, but he hadn't flew in a very long time. The last time he had flew simply the enjoyment of flying was in his final Quidditch match during sixth year. After that, every time he flew his life was on the line as he was an open target for attack.

He walked out onto the pitch and put the broom beneath his legs. Kicking softly off the ground, he began to levitate. Leaning slowly forward, he began to go around the pitch at a comfortable speed. His heart was pounding as he realized that his seven year old self had never felt this sensation before. He was sure to stay below the stands so that nobody in the distance could see him. After circling the pitch a few times, he began to pick up speed and eventually pushed the broom to its max. He felt the broom vibrate beneath him, pushing itself to speeds that it was not designed to reach.

Harry felt the wind in his hair and finally felt completely free. Free from the Dursely's household, free from Voldemort, free from his grief. The only thing that was limiting his freedom was the height of the stands. Harry glanced at the sky, and saw that there was some cloud coverage directly overhead. He slowly began ascending until he reached the top of the stands. After going over the top ever so slightly, he saw that there was nobody close to the pitch. Deciding it was worth the risk, he shot off at the fastest possible speed into the clouds. After he reached the highest point that the broom could ascend to, he turned the broom completely downwards and went full speed. He was willing the broom push itself, as the effects of gravity made his trip even faster. He was going faster than he would have in free fall, as the ground quickly approached. At the last possible second, he pulled the broom up with all of his might, but he had forgotten that all of his might was limited to his seven year old body.

The tip of the broom hit the ground, and Harry was flung over the top of it. Crashing to the ground, Harry felt his arm snap painfully. He yelled in pain, cursing himself for being so stupid. How could he have simply forgotten the limitations of his body, and how the hell was he going to explain this to Madame Pomfrey?

Clutching his arm, he made his way back towards the castle. Luckily, the halls were empty as all of the teachers were preparing for their first day of class. He entered into the infirmary where Madame Pomfrey was tidying up some of the clutter in her office.

"Um… Madame Pomfrey," Harry said in order to get her attention.

"What is it dear?" she responded, looking up at him.

"I think I broke my arm…" he said, hoping that she would just heal him and let him on his way. "I was wondering if you could quickly heal it."

She grabbed his arm gently, waving her wand over it. "Oh my, yes you did break it… Luckily, it's only broken in one place though, so a simple spell will heal it and you won't feel any ill effects. Well that is if I cast it properly, I've heard stories of some wizards finding a way to remove someone's bones using this spell. But no worries, I've done this a million times."

She pointed her wand at his arm and said, "Brackium Emendo."

Harry closed his eyes and thought back to when Professor Lockhart removed all of the bones from his arm using that spell. After the slightest pain, Harry's arm felt brand new, "Thanks Madame Pomfrey!" Harry exclaimed.

"Of course, but now you must tell me how you managed to break it in the first place," she said firmly.

"Well…" Harry started, "I was flying…"

"You were WHAT?!" she exclaimed. "You are much too young to fly! Where did you even get a broom?"

"You're right, I am too young to fly… but Dumbledore told me all about Quidditch the other day and I wanted to try to fly. I went down to the pitch and found a broom in the supply closet. I saw Dudley watching cartoons before and a witch stuck the broom between her legs and just kicked off the ground, so I tried to do the same thing. I didn't really think it would work, but suddenly I was flying and I couldn't stop so I crashed. I'm sorry though, I know I shouldn't have been flying. Can you not tell Dumbledore? I don't want him to be mad at me."

Madame Pomfrey looked at Harry for a moment, pity etched in her face. She obviously was thinking of his hard childhood at the Dursley's. Finally, she said, "I guess I can let it go this time, as long as you promise not to go flying again until you get lessons. Now run along and go enjoy the rest of your peaceful day. This castle will be chaotic tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Harry said before darting out the door. He reached into his pocket and touched the Marauder's Map. Tomorrow as going to be more chaotic than anyone anticipated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please review and let me know what you think! Your reviews have been super helpful so far and really help me improve the story. Let me know what you like/don't like! The plot is about to pick up some pace over the next few chapters!

Also, given your feedback I am simply going to post one long chapter now rather than doing small updates. Sorry for any frustration that may have caused and thank you for the feedback! Future chapters will continue to get longer as the plot becomes more action-filled.


	7. The Rat

Harry awoke the next morning in the guest quarters of Dumbledore's office as the sun pierced through the soft-blue curtains. He was exhausted, as he once again didn't get a very peaceful sleep. The nightmares had only haunted him for a few hours though because he had not fallen asleep until well past 4am. The magnitude of the next day had been overwhelming, and he spent hours last night plotting conversations he would have the following day.

As Harry lay in bed, his thoughts began to wander back to the same thoughts he had the previous night and his nerves began to act up. Today was the day that he had been waiting for ever since he returned. In just a few hours, the Hogwarts Express would be pulling into the station and the Great Hall would be filled with excited students awaiting the Sorting Ceremony. Terrified First-Years would be marched in front of the entire school and be sorted into a House. It was always fun watching the relief run across a student's face when they were sorted into the House their heart truly desired. Harry knew this year he would see a few familiar faces trying on the Sorting Hat, including: Oliver Wood, Penelope Clearwater, and most importantly - Percy Weasley.

Today was also the day that Remus Lupin would be visiting the castle to meet Harry. He was scheduled to arrive slightly before the ceremony, but most of their time conversing would not happen until after the feast. Remus had been an extremely good friend to Harry in the previous timeline, and he was excited to meet him once more. Harry had thought about pushing for Remus to consider adopting him, but decided that this was not a conversation that needed to happen today – there were much bigger plans in the making. Plus, he doubted Remus would oblige. Remus had refused a wife for a long time simply because he was a werewolf; Harry doubted that Remus would think that he was capable of being a parent.

Harry slowly got out of bed and wandered towards Dumbledore's office, making sure to put a smile on his face so that Dumbledore wouldn't notice the exhaustion in his eyes. As Harry entered his office, he saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk with one hand on his chin while staring out into nothingness. As Harry entered the room, he saw Dumbledore quickly snap out of his deep thoughts as his eyes moved towards the young man before him.

"Sorry Professor, I didn't mean to interrupt you," Harry said apologetically. He knew that Dumbledore probably had a lot on his mind between sorting out Harry's new home and the term starting.

"No worries Harry, I was actually thinking of a situation that relates to you. If you don't mind, I'd actually like your opinion on the matter," Dumbledore responded. After seeing Harry's nod, he continued, "As you know, today there will be hundreds of students arriving to the castle. And I'm sure you remember Hagrid telling you about your famous defeat of Voldemort while you were in the hospital. As he mentioned, this story is one known to virtually every wizard alive. So, most of the wizards who enter the castle today will think of you as a bit of a celebrity… except for the muggle borns – which unfortunately make up a minority of the population. Many of these students will likely reach out to you or even just rudely stare at you, as you're somewhat of a hero. Now, there are things we can do to hide you a bit while you're in the castle such as cast a glamor charm in order to hide your scar, if you don't want that much attention."

"I think I'll be okay with it," Harry began, "I'm going to have to learn to live with it eventually, so I may as well start now."

"A very wise answer," Dumbledore said, inclining his head slightly towards Harry. "And if you don't mind, I think it best I just make a small statement about it during the feast, just to dispel any rumors that may occur."

"That's fine, thanks Professor," Harry replied.

"Perfect. Now, would you like to go to the Great Hall with me for one last peaceful meal?" Dumbledore said with a small smirk on his face. Harry obliged and followed him out of the office after quickly changing out of his pajamas.

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Around 5:00pm, Remus walked into Dumbledore's office. His eyes darted around the room before finally resting on Harry sitting on a small loveseat in the corner pretending to read an intro to potions book. His face broke out into a large smile as he saw his best friend's child for the first time since he was a baby.

Harry looked up from his book and saw Remus darting towards him. Harry was tempted to jump out of his chair and run towards the man and give him a hug, but he refrained. He reminded himself that this man should be a bit of a stranger to him, and he would have to ask some rudimentary questions in order to make the conversation authentic.

Remus slowed down a bit awkwardly as he approached the boy, as his first reaction was to hug the baby he once held. However, he too remembered that he was nothing more than a stranger to Harry, as he would not remember riding around on Remus' back when he was young. Remus finally came to a stop in front Harry and extended his hand. "You must be Harry," Remus began, "My name is Remus Lupin. You look exactly how I pictured you would. Your mother always said that you would have her eyes, which your dad agreed with as long as you got his unruly hair…"

A blush crossed Harry's face as he jokingly tried to flatten his hair with his hand. "So, if you're willing to make fun of my hair within the first three sentences you say to me, I'm assuming you were really good friends with my parents?" Harry said with a large smile on his face. He had missed this man an extreme amount following the Battle of Hogwarts, and it was an amazing feeling to see him once more.

Remus laughed, "Yes, I was told you wanted to hear stories about your parents. I had the privilege of being very good friends with your father throughout my years at Hogwarts. We became friends while on the Hogwarts Express first year and were pretty much best friends since then. And obviously I got to know your mother as well, but I wish I knew her even longer. It had taken your father forever to ask her out while in school, and it wasn't until they started dating that I really got to know her well. Nonetheless, we became good friends as we got older and she told me stories of her childhood as well."]

"I want to hear all of them," Harry said with a small smile on his face. He was sure that he would hear some repeated stories, but one thing he had regretted in the previous timeline was not learning more about his parent's childhood. It wasn't until Sirius and Remus were gone that he realized that all of those stories had died with them. Harry saw Dumbledore silently excuse himself from the room, giving them a bit of privacy.

"Well I should begin by introducing you to the Marauders then…" Remus said while pulling out a small photo album from his briefcase. He opened it up to the first page and Harry gazed at a photo of the Marauders from what looked like their first year at Hogwarts. "That one right there is me.. And of course that is your father," Remus said while pointing to the young man playing casually with a snitch.

Harry's eyes landed on the young version of Sirius. Turning to Remus, he asked, "So who else is in this photo?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably, but continued, "Well, that one right there is Peter Pettigrew… he died shortly after your parents. He was always a bit of an outcast, but he showed everyone how courageous he was in his final moments. He confronted a very bad man and attempted to turn him over to the Ministry, but was killed while trying to do this good deed."

Harry took a deep breath, trying not to allow himself to get visibly upset. He had never thought of how highly Remus thought of Peter for supposedly standing up to Sirius on a busy muggle street. 'Remus will know the truth soon enough,' Harry thought to himself.

"Who's the other guy in the photo?" Harry asked with his finger landing on Sirius.

Remus hesitated a bit before responding, "That was the final Marauder in the group. His name was Frank Longbottom. He also died in the war. You'll see the four of us together a lot in a lot of the upcoming photos."

Harry's eyes shot up toward Remus, shocked at what had just come out of his mouth.

"He doesn't look like a Frank," Harry said cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Remus said, his face turning a deep shade of red.

"Well, Frank reminds me of a person that's well put together. A person with short cut hair and follows the rules. That's at least how all the Frank's I've ever met acted… but that's only a few people I guess. I knew a few from school, and they could never have hair as messy as his."

"It's just a name…" Remus replied. "Any name can act anyway they wish."

"I know…" Harry replied innocently.

Remus and Harry spent the next few minutes going over the album, with Remus always referring to Sirius as Frank. After a few short stories, Dumbledore reentered the room informed them that the feast would be starting soon. As Lupin turned to follow Dumbledore, Harry quickly ran into his quarters and grabbed the Marauder's Map from under the mattress. Shoving it into his pocket, he followed Lupin and Dumbledore towards the Great Hall.

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"If I could have your attention for a brief moment, we will be able to feast soon." Dumbledore smiled as he looked around the Great Hall. The first-years had just been sorted and all eyes were upon Dumbledore for his typical beginning of the year speech.

"First and foremost, I must remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. In addition, we have the great privilege of welcoming Professor Merriweather to our staff. Professor Merriweather will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and I'm sure you will all gain vast amounts of knowledge through her instruction."

Harry gave a small smile, already knowing that Professor Merriweather would not be returning next year. Harry's smile quickly faded as Dumbledore turned towards the staff table and caught Harry's eye. "Lastly, I want to quickly take a moment to acknowledge the young lad that is sitting at the staff table. His name is Harry Potter, and he will be a guest in this castle for the time being. I simply ask that you treat him as you would wish to be treated." Dumbledore gave Harry a small smile, which Harry quickly returned. He was glad that Dumbledore hadn't dwelled on Harry's story, nor mentioned the reason he was in the castle. Turning away once more, Dumbledore looked out into the audience before saying, "And now, it's time to feast."

About half way through the meal, Harry excused himself to use the bathroom. After locking himself in a stall, he quickly pulled out the Marauder's Map from his pocket. Quietly, he said the words that he didn't truly mean, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." His eyes darted towards the Gryffindor Tower, where a single name appeared in the first-year dormitory.

**_Peter Pettigrew._**

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The feast ended quickly, and before he knew it Harry was being led out of the Great Hall by Remus. After returning from the bathroom, Harry had told Remus that although he had been here for a few days, it was a very large castle and he found himself getting lost all of the time because of the moving staircases. Remus had very quickly taken it upon himself to give Harry a second small tour of the school to make sure he was comfortable.

Harry followed Remus, who was actually enjoying the tour much more than Harry would have anticipated. It seemed as though every time they turned a corner, Remus was reminded of another mischievous story regarding Harry's father. Harry laughed as Remus told him story after story of pranks that the Marauders pulled off.

Eventually, Harry saw that they were relatively close to Gryffindor Tower. Stopping, Harry asked Remus, "Can you show me where the students' rooms are? I've just been sleeping in Dumbledore's guest room, but I've been wondering where the students actually stay."

Remus responded, "Of course, but each House has their own common room that's attached to the dormitories. Do you have a preference on which House you want to see?"

Harry quickly said, "Whichever one you and my dad were in!"

A smile crossed Remus' face, and Harry knew that he had been hoping to see Gryffindor Tower once more. "Sure, I'll lead the way!"

Harry followed Remus beyond the picture of the Fat Lady as she opened for an exiting student. As Harry looked around the room, he thought of the destruction that happened from the Battle of Hogwarts. The last time he had seen this room, the walls were covered in blood with multiple bodies at their base. There was a giant hole blasted in the wall, which led to the outside. It was nearly a 1000 foot drop to the ground below, and Harry knew some of his classmates had made that fall. He could remember the utter silence as he wandered through the ruins – and then he realized that the room that was normally filled with chatter and laughter was just as silent as that night. Quickly snapping out of it, Harry looked around to find all eyes on him. Nobody really knew how to react to a seven year old Harry Potter wandering around their common room. Sensing the awkwardness, Remus glanced down at Harry and mercifully asked the question that Harry had anticipated having to ask him, "So, do you want to get away from all these eyes and see the dorms?"

"Definitely," Harry chuckled. "I want to see the first dorm I'll be staying in at Hogwarts – I'm sure I'll be a Gryffindor too!"

Lupin led him up the stairs leading to the dorms and entered the first door on the right, which Harry knew to be the first year dorms. The room was vacant, except for a small boy with horn rimmed glasses sitting at his desk preparing for the next day of class. Harry couldn't help but smile as this is exactly how he would imagine an 11 year old Percy. Even though he was in a new castle with hundreds of new people, Percy worked alone behind his desk. Well not completely alone, there was a caged rat on his desk. Harry's smile faltered a bit as he remembered how few friends Percy had while at school. This was the beginning of a lonely few years for the ever-ambitious Percy.

Harry quietly wandered the room, being mindful not to agitate Percy while he studied. After a few minutes, Harry walked up behind him and said, "Hi, I don't mean to interrupt but what are you studying?"

Percy's looked up with an annoyed expression on his face, but his eyes quickly shot open and he sat a bit straighter once his eyes reached Harry's scar. Standing up, he introduced himself, "Hi Harry – my name is Percy Weasley. Um… I'm just starting to study transfiguration. It's basically changing one thing into another… I heard the teacher is pretty hard though so I just want to be prepared for class in the morning."

"Wicked, that sounds useful" Harry said. He made a bit more small talk with Percy before turning to Remus.

"I didn't know you could bring rats to school!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah, you can bring an owl, toad, cat, or rat," Percy responded. "This rat has been in our family for a few years – we found him wandering our meadow about six years ago and he's been a bit of a house pet ever since!"

"Six years?" Remus questioned. "I don't know what you're feeding him, but whatever you're doing I would keep doing it - that's a long life for a rat."

After quickly asking permission from Percy, Harry picked up the cage to examine the rat further. "I've never seen a rat this close up before..." Harry said aloud, but to no one in particular. He began slowly carrying the cage towards Remus. He couldn't help but laugh as he saw the rat scramble into his little hut as soon as he laid eyes on Remus. Harry couldn't imagine the nervousness flowing through Peter Pettigrew.

Harry brought the cage close to his face once more, making sure to sell what he was about to say. "Huh, Remus come look at this – he only has four toes on one of his hands."

Harry looked up towards Remus, who had become abnormally still. His eyes bore into the cage, as if willing the rat to show himself. The rat peeked his head out from inside of the hut, but immediately retreated when he saw Remus looking at the cage."

Remus put his hand in his pocket, and Harry knew he was going for his wand. "Harry, I need to listen to me very closely and do exactly what I say. I want you to put the cage on the ground as fast as you can, and sprint away from it. NOW!"

Harry quickly set the cage and the floor and followed Remus' instructions as he ran away from the cage. Remus drew his wand and pointed it at the cage, yelling "STUPIFY!"

Percy shot up from his seat, and began to yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOI-" before Remus cut him off.

"Percy, I need you to find the Gryffindor prefect. Tell him there is an emergency and to secure this room – Do not let anyone in except for Dumbledore." Percy shot out the room, with a sense of purpose in his eyes.

"Harry – I need you to go to go find Professor Dumbledore. He should be in his office, but if he's not then just raise hell until you find him. Tell him he needs to come to the Gryffindor First Year Dormitories immediately. I need to stay in this room and make sure this rat doesn't go anywhere. I'll explain everything later." Harry nodded and bolted out of the door. Commotion had begun in the Common Room as Percy was screaming for the prefect – who quickly listened to Percy's story and scrambled up the stairs to stand guard outside of the dormitories. Harry regained his focus and sprinted down the stairs, running out the door before he could hear the entire Common Room burst into speculation as to what was going on.

Harry skidded to a halt in front of the ugly gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. Harry screamed "Mars Bars!" at it before sprinting up the rotating staircase. Without knocking, Harry burst into the office where he saw Dumbledore conversing with Professor McGonagall. "Professor…" Harry breathed heavily, wishing his younger self was in better shape. "I was in the Gryffindor Tower when Remus was showing me the First Year Dorms. I don't know what happened, but Remus stunned a kid named Percy's rat and told me to get you as fast as I could. He said it's an emergency and there is a prefect guarding the door right now and Remus is standing guard over P- the rat!"

Harry cursed himself as he had almost said Peter. Luckily, he remembered just in time that he was supposed to be an innocent bystander in all of this. He looked at Dumbledore, who looked to be deep in thought. He wasn't looking at Harry, but rather was staring into nothingness. This pleased Harry immensely, as he didn't think that Dumbledore caught his minor slip. _But I can't let that happen again. Dumbledore is perceptive, and a few slips and he will figure this whole thing out. And now is not the time for him to learn the truth._

Harry looked at Dumbledore, and noticed a twinkle in his eye. Harry had no idea how he did it, but it appeared as though somehow Dumbledore had already figured out that it was Peter Pettigrew that was stunned, and understood that this meant Sirius Black was an innocent man.

"Harry, I must ask you to remain in my office for the time being. Minerva, please watch over Harry. This needs my attention and I anticipate it being a very long night" Dumbledore said, quickly turning on his heel and running swiftly out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sorry for the long time between updates, I hope you enjoy. _**Please review**_, it will keep me much more motivated to post the next chapter sooner! Now that school is over, I will have more free time to write!


	8. Reunited

SIRIUS BLACK – PARDONED - NOW FREE

_There are words that you never expect to see in the same sentence: Sirius Black and free are two of those words. We here at the Daily Prophet have confirmed that just last night, Albus Dumbledore barged into the Ministry of Magic looking for Minister Fudge. After learning that the Minister had retired to his home for the night, it is rumored that Dumbledore apperated directly into the Ministers household (how he managed to get past the wards is a mystery). _

_The exact context of their conversation is unknown, but following their conversation Minister Fudge sent word to Azkaban to release the accused, notorious, mass-murder, Sirius Black. The Minister has also signed an official pardon, thereby cleansing Sirius Black of all previous accused wrongdoing. _

_Although we do not know the exact conversation that occurred between Dumbledore and Minister Fudge, we have also received word that there is a trial scheduled for next week for Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew was thought to be murdered years ago by Sirius Black (along with a dozen muggles). We at the Prophet have a feeling that these two situations are related, but still urge our readers to be wary of Sirius Black until all of this is sorted out. If seen, please do not contact Aurors – but keep your distance. _

_We have contacted Albus Dumbledore for a comment regarding the unexpected release of Sirius Black, and usually tight-lipped Headmaster responded to us by saying, "If they threw an innocent man into Azkaban in one night without public outrage, surely they can get him out of Azkaban in one night." For more regarding this story, including the accusations that Dumbledore used the Imperius Curse on Minister Fudge, continue on page A6._

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Harry finished reading the article, and looked to his right as he watched Percy's eyes absorb the enormity of the story within the Prophet. Harry had decided to sit next to Percy during breakfast, as he wanted to make sure he was alright following everything that happened last night. He was sure that Percy would be blaming himself for not realizing that his rat was actually Peter Pettigrew.

"I've been harboring a fugitive…" Percy began, "The Ministry is going to arrest me. I broke the law."

"There's no way you could have known, Perce. I think the Ministry is daft, but there's no way they would be daft enough to accuse you of knowing about all of this."

Percy looked at Harry questionably, and Harry knew that Percy was trying to determine whether or not to accept the nickname that Harry had just given him. Harry knew later in his life his brothers began to call him 'Perce', but wanted to give him the nickname earlier in this timeline. Harry wasn't sure if Percy would be willing to accept a small friendship with someone four years younger than him, but he smiled anyways when Percy gave him a small nod of approval.

"I guess you're right, I just wonder where Dumbledore is… He told me that he would explain everything today, but last I saw him he was transforming Scabbers into Peter and escorting him out of my dorm," Percy said with a small shudder as he thought back to the events of the previous night. .

Harry looked up at the empty chair that sat overlooking the Great Hall. He had wondered that as well, but figured he was with Sirius. Surely, there must be a lot that needs to get sorted out after being taken out of the wizarding world for over six years.

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After a Dumbledore-less dinner in the Great Hall, Harry wandered back to Dumbledore's office. He figured that he would simply find a book in Dumbledore's personal library and retire to his quarters for the night. Although many of the books were extremely advanced, Harry noted a few nights ago that Dumbledore had replaced the books regarding dark magic with introductory textbooks and a few non-fiction biographies of famous wizards including Nicolas Flamel and Grindelwald.

Harry strolled past the gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office after saying "Snickers" and ascended the spiral staircase. His interest peaked as he heard a light murmuring coming from beyond the door leading to the office. Leaning his ear on the door, he heard Dumbledore's voice clearly, "Two muggles murdered wouldn't solve anything… You're a free man now; you have a chance to raise your best friend's son. The Ministry just wants you to go away – the last thing they would want is to fight you over custody."

Harry's felt his heart stop as he heard Sirius' voice for the first time in years, "Do you think Harry will trust me though? Between the papers and the rumors, I don't know if the boy will be able to look at me."

Dumbledore quickly rebutted, "I believe the media will be 100% on your side after the trial of Pettigrew. And where the media leads, the public tends to follow. You have one more week of being the dreadful Sirius Black who must be avoided at all costs. You will be popular with the public after that, and you will be watching over a boy who is beloved by the public.

"But what if he doesn't like me…" Sirius said, and Harry could hear the concern in his voice. In the brief time he had known Sirius in the previous timeline, he had never heard him sound so insecure… so vulnerable.

"Truthfully, this day we spent together was me ensuring that you are in fact the same man I remembered from those years ago. I am confident that it is in Harry's best interest to live in your protection. And while his protection is important, I have realized that there is much more to Harry's life than ensuring his safety. This entire day, I have seen your outstanding love for life in every mundane task we did – from paperwork at the Ministry to even more paperwork at Gringotts. I made a mistake with Harry's guardianship once already, and I promise you that I will not do it again."

Harry backed away from the door and took a breath. He was surprised at how quickly Sirius gained back Dumbledore's trust, but he wasn't going to be the one to complain about it – that would likely be Snape's job. He also knew that he should be a bit upset about how this living arrangement was almost set in stone even before Harry had a chance to meet Sirius, but he figured that they were likely talking about his situation throughout the course of the day. He had wanted to live with Sirius more than anything (well not more than saving everybody…), and was glad Dumbledore came to that solution without needing a push in the right direction.

Taking one last breath in an attempt to compose himself so that he would not cause suspicion based on his reaction to seeing Sirius, he knocked lightly on the door. Harry heard the talking immediately subside and a brief moment passed, as Harry pictured Sirius was taking a deep breath trying to compose himself for seeing his best friend's child. The door in front of him slowly opened, as Dumbledore said, "Ah Harry, I have someone here that I want you to meet."

Harry looked towards the other man in the room and observed him quietly. Sirius looked much better than he did in the previous timeline – he looked at least 10 years younger. His skin was not quite as pale as he remembered, and his hair had significantly fewer grey hairs. The one thing that hadn't changed was his smile, as it completely reached his eyes which were beginning to tear up as he looked upon James' son."

Still smiling at him, Sirius said, "You look just like I thought you would. Pretty much a replica of your father… except your eyes. You have your mother's eyes."

Grinning madly with a small blush upon his face, Harry replied, "Why is it that that is the first thing everyone says to me?! But thank you Sirius."

Harry's grin faded quickly and his eyes became large in panic as he realized he had said his name before Sirius even introduced himself. Surely someone would have noticed that slip. He dared a glance towards Dumbledore, whose eyes were examining him closely. With the future hanging in the balance, he berated himself for making such a stupid mistake. Every move he makes can mean the difference between life and death, and he couldn't believe he had made such a simple mistake. He thought rapidly about how he could convince Dumbledore to let him keep his memories, how he will be able to save everyone this time around and minimize the damage Voldemort can bring to the world.

As Dumbledore began to open his mouth to speak, Sirius replied, "It seems that you've seen the article about me in the Prophet then?"

Harry heart turned over as he realized this was the perfect out. He breathed out in response, "Yes."

"So why aren't you running for cover and avoiding me? Apparently, I'm a dangerous man," Sirius laughed as he rose his arms in a sad attempt to look tenacious.

Harry could see Dumbledore was still examining him, apparently waiting to an answer to the question Sirius posed, "You don't seem like a bad guy… plus Dumbledore is here and he seems to trust you. I heard a few students talk about how much the Prophet can exaggerate stories a few days ago, so I don't think that I should judge you based off of words printed on a piece of paper."

Dumbledore let out a small smile, looking like he approved of Harry's answer. His smile quickly fading, he looked at Harry with a more serious look on his face. In a defeated voice, Dumbledore said, "Harry, we need to talk."

"About what?" Harry replied.

"The truth of what happened the night your parents died, and certain events that occurred leading up to that point."

Sirius chimed in, hoping to satisfy the child before him and earn his approval "And we'll get dessert from the kitchens right after this if you're still hungry."

Harry chuckled a bit at this attempt of winning over a seven year old, "Sounds good to me!"

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"So let me make sure I get this right? Sirius was trying to protect my family by letting Peter Pettigrew become secret keeper, and then after my parents were killed he realized Pettigrew had betrayed them and tracked him down. Then Peter blew up a street full of muggles and pretended to die in order to frame Sirius and has been hiding as a rat ever since. And somehow he ended up being the pet of Percy Weasley?" Harry said, trying to show a brief comprehension upon his face.

"And I've been in Azkaban ever since," Sirius added.

"But how did Remus know?" Harry questioned. "He knew it was Pettigrew just by looking at him."

Sirius replied, "Peter was one of our best friends… we've seen him in his rat form hundreds of times. Plus, Dumbledore mentioned that you noticed he only had four fingers. That's probably what made Remus take a closer look at the rat. Before he blew up the street of muggles, Peter chopped off his own finger in order to look like he had been blown to bits. So, he would be missing a finger in his rat form as well."

"So, does everything here make sense Harry? I know it's a lot to take in, especially for someone so young" Dumbledore said gently.

"I'm not too young," Harry said a bit harshly in response. His frustration with Dumbledore for withholding the prophecy for so long in the last timeline flared up. Hopefully, Dumbledore would trust that he could handle more information earlier in his life this time around. "But yes Professor, it makes sense. By the way, I know Percy Weasley wants to talk to you about last night also – it was his rat after all and I think he's blaming himself a bit."

"Thank you Harry, I've been meaning to talk to him. I'll call him to my office right now, but I can see Sirius is itching to get that dessert so I'll see the two of you later."

Sirius was already running towards the door as he said, "You can't imagine how much I craved sweets over the past six years. Come on Harry, I'll show you how to get all the best food with the best service even when the Great Hall is closed."

I know this is a shorter chapter and not much is going on, but it's necessary in order to advance the story. Another reason why I'm posting this a bit early is because I wanted to let you guys know that I am looking for beta readers.

Benefits of being a beta reader: Get to receive the chapter a bit earlier than everyone else, get to give feedback before a chapter is posted and pitch your ideas for improvement, and also get to really help shape the story as I have a few large events I'm building up to, but am very interested in other ideas that can be incorporated into the story!

Looking for: someone very creative and willing to help! I know that I make grammar mistakes, so if someone could help catch those it would be awesome! I'm probably looking for around 2-3 betas, so please send me a message if you're interested!


	9. The Trial of Peter Pettigrew

Harry heard the light footsteps running into his room in Dumbledore's quarters before he was able to open his eyes. Listening, Harry realized these footsteps were much too rapid to be coming from a human. Realizing who it was, Harry's eyes shot open and he instinctively began to pull his covers over his head. He screamed as a large black dog jumped onto his bed and began licking his face before he was able to get the covers completely over himself.

"Sirius… Padfoot… Whoever you are…. Get… Off… Me," Harry said between laughs while semi-jokingly trying to push Sirius off of him. Sirius had introduced Harry to his canine self a few days ago and had taken it upon himself to spring on Harry every morning since.

Sirius had been visiting every day since they first met and while it had only been a week, they had built quite the relationship. Harry found this Sirius to be exactly how he remembered him: quick to laugh, light-hearted, and a perfect amount of cocky. And this time his cockiness was a bit more justified, as he looked years younger than his other-dimension self. Even after being free only a week, he was beginning to fill out a bit as he regained a healthy diet that was absent while in Azkaban. His skin color had also rapidly improved over the past week, as his extremely pale skin had regained some color after being moved out of his ever-dark cell.

Every time Harry woke up for the past week, he was reminded by the rapid licking on his face of why he came back to this time, and why he must succeed. Sirius was the parent he never had, and he was going to make sure that this parent wouldn't leave him.

Sirius had gently been approaching the subject of adoption over the past few days, but had yet to commit to adopting Harry. Harry was a bit annoyed at this hesitation, but understood that he probably had a good reason for waiting to ask. Sirius wanted his name to be cleared by the media before he dragged Harry into his mess. Luckily, today was the day Harry had been waiting for during the past week. Today was the day that Sirius' name would be fully cleared and the public could hold no more animosity against him. Today was the Trial of Peter Pettigrew.

"Uncle… Uncle… you win!" Harry exclaimed in surrender, still trying to get Sirius to stop licking his face. The black dog barked in triumph and jumped off of his bed on onto the floor before turning back into the human Sirius, who wore a satisfied smirk on his face.

"I always told your dad that you would be calling me Uncle Sirius someday," he laughed while seemingly recalling a distant memory.

"Does your breath always smell as bad as Padfoot's?" Harry shot back with a smirk.

"Nah you can ask the ladies about that one," Sirius replied with a smile. The seven year old inside of Harry cringed at the thought of Sirius' previous experience with the ladies.

"You haven't had a lady friend in over six years!" Harry said while sticking out his tongue. Sirius had been making many jokes regarding his imprisonment over the past few days, claiming the humor was the best way to move on – so Harry knew he wouldn't be offended by the comment.

"I can't wait till you're older and I can tease you mercilessly regarding your lady friends," Sirius laughed.

"Yeah yeah well until then, I can just pick on you," Harry replied. He was sure Sirius would be sure to keep that promise, but there was only one lady friend for him and she was still only six years old. Sirius would have to wait a long time to cash in on that promise.

"Well, you should start getting ready kiddo. The suit we had shipped from Diagon Alley is hanging in your closet. Try to look sharp, a lot of eyes will be on you today… so hopefully you have learned to tame your hair a bit better than James ever did," Sirius said while ruffling Harry's hair, making his bedhead even worse.

"I'll see what I can do," Harry said while smiling. "But I think you have much more work to do than me – more eyes will be on you since you're actually taking the stand!"

"Harry… please… look at me… I could go up there in sweatpants and everyone would still love me," Sirius said with a wink, as if forgetting that he was still considered a dangerous man by a majority of the public. His smile faded quickly as he sat down on the bed and looked at Harry seriously. "You're sure you want to do this then? You don't have to come you know. It's going to be a circus out there."

Harry nodded immediately. Sirius had been gently trying to talk him out of going to the trial for the past few days, but Harry insisted. He needed to see the man responsible for killing his parents get what was coming to him.

Sirius gave a small nod in return, "Well, I'm proud of how you're handling this whole situation Harry. I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore for a bit about my testimony, so hop in the shower and start getting ready. The trial starts at noon, but we should get there an hour early since it will be so crowded with the media."

"Sounds good; see you in a bit," Harry replied, glancing at the clock on his bed and noting that he had about an hour to get ready.

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An hour later, Harry walked between Sirius and Dumbledore as they made their way across the gates surrounding Hogwarts. They had to make this journey in order to get past the anti-apparation wards protecting the school. After walking through the rustic gate, Sirius and Dumbledore both held out their arms for Harry to take for side along apparition. Giving Dumbledore a warm smile and a small nod in appreciation, Harry took hold of Sirius' arm. He closed his eyes as his seven year old body experienced the unpleasant feeling of apparition for the first time.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of an even busier than normal London street. All around him wizards were dressed in exotic clothes in an attempt to blend in to the muggle crowd. Harry assumed muggles thought the man wearing jean overalls over his tuxedo looked unusual, he was even surer they were completely baffled by the incredibly long line of these unusually dressed people waiting outside of a broken telephone booth.

Luckily, Sirius was a witness in this case so they would not need to take the visitor's entrance into the Ministry. Instead, Dumbledore led them into a pub across the street which appeared to be closed. Inside, there were nearly a dozen fireplaces with emerald green fire roaring in each one.

Dumbledore saw the confused look on Harry's face and explained, "The Ministry has booked this pub for a private event all day, so the muggle owner took the day off. They typically do this for all major events in which a lot of people need to access the Ministry. Employees of our government are able to Apparate directly into the Ministry, but the Ministry set up this entrance for people of importance that are not government officials but need to gain access to the Ministry. Since Sirius is testifying, we are fortunate enough to be able to use this entrance. All other viewers of the trial are being forced to go through the visitor's entrance, which was why all those wizards were outside of that phone booth across the street."

Harry nodded as this explanation made sense, surely the Ministry would not make a witness risk being late for a trial simply due to a backup at the visitor's entrance. With that, Harry watched Dumbledore step into the green flames and disappear. Harry walked in front of Sirius and towards the green flames when he heard a sharp gasp behind him, followed by a shrill voice, "Sirius Black… I consider myself surprised that you didn't blow up that street you just came from. It was full of muggles; surely you could get more than 12 this time. Any comment for the Prophet on how you managed to restrain yourself from a relapse?"

Harry knew who he would see even before he turned around. Standing before him was a medium-sized plump woman, dressed in an extravagant green dress. She wore bold-rimmed glasses and had bleached blonde hair. Floating beside her was a small notepad and what Harry assumed to be a Quick-Notes Quill. Harry knew this woman to be Rita Skeeter of the Daily Prophet. He hardly thought she was considered 'essential personnel', but somehow it seems she gained access to this entrance.

Sirius played the comment off well, simply turning towards her and replying, "The truth will come out soon enough, then whatever article you're attempting to write will be trashed."

Sirius and Harry turned back towards the fire and began walking towards it when the same shrill voice called out again, "And who is this lad with you? Surely you kidnapped him off of the streets… Do I need to call for Aurors?"

Her attention quickly turned towards Harry, and she let out an even bigger gasp than before as her eyes landed upon his scar. In a sad attempt to tame his hair, Harry had been forced to do a bit of a comb-over look, which unfortunately left his scar in uncovered.

"Harry P-Potter…." Rita stammered. She quickly recovered from the initial shock and began shooting off questions at Harry, "It was rumored you were at Hogwarts for the past few weeks. How did this man get capture you? And why were you at Hogwarts in the first place? So many questions Little Harry, let's sit down before you go to the Ministry."

Sirius' face reddened as his blood started to boil. Harry could see him trying not to be the person that the wizarding community believed him to be, but he was fighting a losing battle. After a brief moment of hesitation, he grasped his wand from his suit and pointed it directly at Rita's heart. "You do not talk to him… you do not look at him… and you do not write about him… He's just a kid and you will not be advancing your career by taking advantage of him. Is that clear?"

Rita's face paled as Harry began to ponder whether Rita actually believed Sirius was as dangerous as she claimed in her articles. She nodded quickly as Sirius set fire to her notepad and quill before leading Harry into the green flames and into the Ministry.

Dumbledore stood waiting outside of the fireplace, his gaze remaining patient as Sirius and Harry finally emerged from the flames. "Get a bit nervous before stepping into the fire Harry?" Dumbledore questioned gently.

"We ran into a reporter before we stepped into the flames," Sirius explained, his face still recovering from its red appearance.

Dumbledore nodded as he watched Rita Skeeter step out of the flames and into the Ministry. His expression darkened as he leaned into Sirius and whispered something. Sirius shook his head as if saying 'no' before looking down at Harry.

"We didn't think this one through lad. Forget the hair, let it be wild!" Sirius laughed as he ruffled Harry's hair. Harry fully noticed how Sirius made an effort to put down his bangs and hide his scar. Harry smiled in appreciation as he knew how hard Sirius was trying to make this appear innocent to the young Harry. Sirius could have easily performed a glamour charm on his scar to hide it (which Harry assumed Dumbledore suggested), but Harry knew that he didn't want to make Harry feel ashamed of his scar. Smiling up at Sirius and giving a knowing nod, Harry brought his bangs down a bit more to ensure his scar was fully covered.

Dumbledore continued walking, leading the way towards the courtroom. The Ministry was busier than Harry had ever seen it, with witches and wizards scrambling around the Atrium. Many of them were holding small maps which showed an outline of the Ministry, as they were trying to find their way towards what many people were calling the 'Case of the Centaury'. Never before had it been proven that an innocent man was suffered in Azkaban, and Sirius' story was so well-known that people naturally wanted to see the outcome with their own eyes.

Dumbledore led them around the last corner before the courtroom when nearly every wizarding reporter in Britain surrounded them. Dumbledore cast a small charm, creating a small pathway in the middle of the reporters with invisible walls on each side. They walked through the plethora of reporters uninterrupted, except for the blinding lights coming from the cameras.

As they entered the room, Harry gasped at the sheer vastness of the courtroom. It looked similar to the one he had viewed in Dumbledore's pensive many years ago, when Igor Karkaroff was giving testimony against other Death Eaters. However, this room looked like it had been magically expanded by nearly 20 times. In the middle of the room stood a large cage made from sheer iron. The cage was surrounded by numerous arrows, all pointed directly towards where the would-be prisoner would be sitting. A few feet away from the cage, but still in the center of the room, there was an uncomfortable-looking stool. Harry assumed this was where a witness would give his testimony.

The rest of the room was slightly elevated, looking down upon the cage and the stool. Seats completely surrounded the cage on all sides, forming a full circle around the prisoner. The first few rows of seats were all plush chairs, which Harry assumed would be taken by the Wizengamot. Beyond that, there were countless wooden benches taking up row after row. The first few rows closest to the Wizengamot had security standing next to them, as they were reserved for media along with witnesses and their families. Most of the seats in the courtroom were still empty, as there was still an hour until the trial would begin. Harry's attention was diverted towards the one man sitting alone in the reserved section. He was wearing an old grey suit and looked like he was going to be sick any moment. Harry watched as Remus caught his eye and smiled, before glancing up at Sirius and quickly diverting his attention towards the opposite side of the room.

Harry was surprised that he hadn't seen Remus around the castle once Sirius had been freed from Azkaban. He thought they had perhaps been meeting up after Sirius left the castle at night, but by Remus' reaction to seeing Sirius, he assumed that he was mistaken. Why there weren't talking he was unsure, but by the looks of it they had not even had a conversation since Sirius was freed.

Harry followed Sirius as they made their way towards the reserved section. Harry nearly bumped into Sirius, who had abruptly stopped when he caught sight of Remus. Harry watched his godfather's eyes turn wide in excitement as he rushed over to see his old friend. Remus heard the footsteps approaching and turned to see a wide-eyed Sirius charging towards him. Remus instinctively threw his hands up as Sirius approached, as if covering himself for what he wrongly assumed to be punches. Sirius seemed to hardly notice his reaction, as he slid popped down on the bench next to Remus and threw his arm around his shoulder in a brotherly sentiment.

"How's been chasing the moon without your favorite canine friend, Moony?" Sirius asked while tightening his arm around Remus' shoulder. Harry could see the tension in Remus' face slowly fade away. Harry followed the path Sirius took, although in a much calmer manner, and took a seat next to his godfather.

Remus let out a small chuckle as Sirius' comment, but then looked down and put his head in his hands. A brief moment passed before his face remerged his eyes full of tears. He looked Sirius directly in the eye as he said, "I can't even begin to describe how sorry I am… I never fought for you… they chucked you in jail without a trial and I never said anything… These past six years, I've hated you for murdering my best friends... Dumbledore told me the whole story… I don't get how you can look at me as if nothing happened."

Sirius' smile faded as he saw the grief on his friend's face. His arm remaining around Remus, he replied, "I can't find a way to blame you for that… All of this is my fault anyways. I thought I was outsmarting Voldemort when I suggested Peter be secret-keeper, but in the end it cost James and Lily their lives. And if you need more proof that you shouldn't be sorry, the reason I chose Peter over you was because I thought you might have been leaking information to Voldemort. It was beyond stupid, but I was paranoid. I didn't trust you, even when you had been with me through thick and thin since I was eleven. Honestly, I deserved to be in Azkaban for the mistakes I made. But now I'm free and we can't change the past, so let's just get this day over with and move on. Wormtail will pay for what he's done."

Harry quivered as he thought of the Dementor's performing a kiss on Pettigrew. However, it was time for Harry to try to save Pettigrew's soul – at least for now. Harry's exact plans regarding the future were still a bit unclear, but he knew that Peter could be a valuable asset down the road. He would need Voldemort to resurrect in order to finish him off, and Peter was vital to his resurrection in the previous timeline. By keeping Peter alive, he could plan for Voldemort's resurgence since he would know when and how it would happen: Fourth year after the Triwizard Tournament.

"What will they do to Pettigrew?" Harry asked, making Sirius turn away from Remus.

"Well, I don't know if you know anything about them but there is a creature called a Dementor. They are foul creatures that will rip his soul from his body. It's pretty much a death sentence," Sirius responded frankly.

"They shouldn't do that to him," Harry said simply.

"I don't think you understand what this man did, Harry. He is the reason your parents are dead. He is the reason I have been locked away in the most horrible place on Earth these past six years," Sirius said darkly.

"Do you think that's what my mom and dad would want though? I mean, he used to be their friend," Harry asked innocently.

"So what, you want him to walk free?" Sirius asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"I just don't think he should have his soul ripped out of him if he used to be my parents friend. I don't think they would want that. Plus, if Azkaban is so bad then why not just have him live there the rest of his life? That punishment is probably just as harsh as the soul-sucking," Harry argued.

Sirius looked at Remus, who in turn gave him a small nod while saying, "Can you really imagine Lily wanting Pettigrew to be kissed? James might simply because he was responsible for Lily's death… but Lily would be completely against it no matter what he did."

Sirius' sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought. Harry was sure he was imagining Pettigrew's life in Azkaban, and how he would be reliving his worst memories for the rest of his life. Seemingly satisfied, Sirius turned his attention back on Harry, "I think you're right Harry. Plus, it was your parents that were taken away – even if you are young, you should have a say in the matter. It would do you no good if they administered the Kiss and you didn't get any type of closure from it. During my testimony, I'll give them my opinion on the sentencing. I think they will listen to me given all the media attention."

"Thank you," Harry replied. He was slightly kicking himself for not thinking about Pettigrew's fate earlier, but it seemed as though he righted the ship. He could now anticipate Voldemort's return if they were able to break Pettigrew out of Azkaban and have him return to his master years from now. However, that would be a task for another day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A few minutes later, Harry spotted three red-haired individuals walking through the courtroom. Percy was accompanied by both of his parents. Harry's neck began to cramp as he looked for the rest of the Weasley clan, but was disappointed to see that they had not been allowed to come. Harry assumed that had been Molly's decision.

After that moment of reflection, Harry stood up and took a step towards the approaching Weasley family. However, he hesitated after that first step. His mind raced as he considered the potential consequences of meeting the Weasley family early. If he got to know them, would they still grow to think of him as family? He had never known a seven year old Ron or a six year old Ginny, and although Harry wanted to believe that their relationship would grow to be as strong as ever, it was scary to consider the fact that he would have to make a first impression all over again.

Harry knew these next few years were going to be busy; after all he had Horcruxes to hunt and training to complete. Next time he met Voldemort, he needed him to be vulnerable. He also needed to be as prepared as possible to duel one of the strongest wizards of all time. He desperately wanted to be part of the Weasley family once more, but the next few years would likely go by quickly as he did have a lot that needed to be accomplished.

Before he could decide whether he should introduce himself, the decision was made for him as Percy saw him from across the courtroom. Harry watched as Percy said something excitedly to his parents as he led them towards Harry.

"Hey, Perce," Harry said as the Percy approached. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hi Harry!" Percy said excitedly. "I'd like you to meet my mom and dad."

"Erm, Hi" Harry replied awkwardly, but before his could say another word he was swept into Molly's arms.

"Percy has told us all about you," she said as she gave Harry a motherly hug. Harry assumed Percy had also told them that Harry had been living at Hogwarts and they deduced that he was guardian-less. The hug felt much too motherly to be just saying 'thank you for helping catch Pettigrew and for being Percy's friend'

Mrs. Wealsey always had a knack for giving Harry the best hugs in the world in the old timeline, making him feel welcome and safe. It took everything in his power to stop the tears from flowing as his seven year old self felt the sensation of being loved for the first time.

After Molly released him, Harry turned towards Sirius and introduced him, "Um… well this is Sirius Black. He's my godfather and I can promise you that he's not the horrible man described by the papers," Harry said sheepishly. It was hard to introduce a man that many still believed to be a mass-murderer.

Harry was relieved to see Arthur take a step forward and extend his hand towards Sirius, who gratefully accepted his handshake. Molly teared up as she stepped forward and also gave Sirius a hug while saying, "I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you. Dumbledore told us everything after Pettigrew was discovered,"

Harry gave a small smirk as he saw the tension on Sirius' face melt away while he was hugging Mrs. Wealsey. Harry knew that it had been a long time since anyone has shown him kindness and he was relishing this moment.

After their embrace ended, Mrs. Weasley looked from Harry to Sirius. "Would you two like to join us for supper tonight? I have a son the same age as Harry and a daughter a year younger. Plus four other sons, including Percy here," she said while delicately laying her arm around Percy's shoulder.

Harry's eyes were large as he looked up towards Sirius. Tonight gave him no time to plan at all. Sirius mistook his wide eyes as a sign of excitement as he looked back towards Mrs. Weasley.

"That would be lovely," Sirius said politely.

After exchanging their information, Sirius agreed to floo to the Burrow around 7pm. Harry's mind raced as he thought about how he could get this Weasley family to love him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry's thoughts were interrupted a short time later as the doors to courtroom opened one last time. Harry watched a small army of Aurors enter the room as they escorted Pettigrew to the cage standing in the center. After locking him inside, the Aurors retreated from the cage and faced the audience. Minister Fudge stood up from his seat, and his amplified voice rang out, "In order to keep order in this courtroom, we will be placing a small ward between the Wizengamot and the rest of the audience. This ward will be a barrier which will not allow sound to pass from the audience to the Wizengamot, but will allow sound to pass in the other direction so that you will be able to hear the testimony of each witness along with questions asked by the Wizengamot."

Each Auror pointed their wand at spot slightly above the Wizengamot but below Harry (along with the general audience). After moving their wand in a quick circular motion, they cast a nonverbal spell which made a small dome of light appear between the Wizengamot and the general audience. It quickly disappeared and based on the Aurors retreating towards the corner of the room, Harry assumed that they were satisfied with the ward and could no longer hear the audience.

Fudge looked at the audience and announced, "This trial is for Peter Pettigrew in order to determine his guilt for a magnitude of charges. Those most serious of these charges include twelve counts of murder against muggles, two counts of murder against a wizard, fleeing authority, and treachery towards the Ministry for your risk of exposing the magical world after destroying a muggle street." Fudge focused his attention on the cowardly man standing in the center of the room, "How do you plead?"

"N-n-not guilty," Pettigrew stammered.

"Well let's get on with it then," Fudge said simply, his attention turning to Madame Bones.

Madame Bones stood up and addressed the crowd, "Over the past week, I have been in charge of looking into this case. As most of us know, but for a quick lesson for those who have never experienced a wizarding trail - there is no one in charge of prosecution or defense in the magical world. Instead, the Ministry gathers all people with information relevant to the case and we listen to their testimony. They simply tell facts based on the best of their knowledge and the Wizengamot as a whole will question them in order to determine the validity of their testimony and to uncover any other facts in the case. After hearing testimony from all relevant parties, including the accused, we will determine innocence or guilt and decide the sentence."

She took a breath and continued, "Now, the first man we will call forth was the man who was previously accused of committing the crimes Peter is now accused of."

Sirius grabbed Harry's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before standing up and making his way down to the stool placed near Pettigrew. As he made his way towards the stool, his eyes bore into the cage that held his former friend. He took a seat on the stool, but did not look up towards the Wizengamot. Instead, he continued looking directly at Peter, whose eyes were cast downwards as his head hung low enough so his chin was nearly touching his chest.

Madame Bones voice rang out once more, "Mr. Black, could you please describe what happened that day on the muggle street. Please, start at the beginning and take your time."

Sirius continued looking at Peter, and Harry could only imagine the look of hatred within his eyes, "This started a few months before the incident on the muggle street. James and Lily Potter believed that they were next on Voldemort's list, so they went into hiding. They asked me to cast the Fidelius charm on their home, however I declined. I told them that they should have Peter do the charm instead."

Harry was impressed how short he was keeping the story, but was startled when Sirius' voice cracked.

"You were one of my best friends," he said while still looking at Peter, whose head rose up slightly as he made eye contact with Sirius. "I trusted you… James and Lily trusted you… but you killed them… You could have come to us… Why didn't you just come to us? We could have protected you as well… We were friends for over a decade… I should have been a better friend… you should have known that I would have protected you."

Harry could see tears slowly dripping down Sirius' face. Sirius was acting much different than Harry had expected. He expected shouting or a stiff coldness, but Sirius was doing just the opposite. It almost seemed as though he was blaming himself for Peter's mistake. Through years of friendship, Peter chose not to come to him in his greatest time of need. Sirius never knew Peter to be hateful, and the fact that he betrayed James and Lily due to fear, not because he was evil, was an unbearable thought for Sirius to handle.

Through six years of Azkaban, it was obvious that Sirius was still struggling to truly hate Peter. It was one thing to show hatred in the heat of the moment, like Sirius has done when he had first met Peter in the Shrieking Shack in the previous timeline. It was much different when your former best friend was standing before you, a broken man in a cage. Sirius hated the decisions Peter made and the man he became, but while staring into that cage he remembered the friend that he once was.

Sirius shook his head and wiped away the tears. He straightened up in his seat, composing his emotions, and continued with the rest of the story - explaining to the Wizengamot how Peter framed him while blowing up a street full of muggles. The Wizengamot interrupted with a few questions, but mainly left him free to speak. By the end of the story, his tears had dried up and he was looking into the cage with a fierce gaze.

"Is that all you have to tell, Mr. Black?"

Sirius glanced up at Harry before turning his attention back to Peter, "No. I know that most you in on the Wizengamot have never seen nor visited Azkaban, but it is truly hell. Days and weeks all blend together and you are forced to constantly relive your worst memories as Demontors linger around the cells. I know Peter; he was my friend for over a decade, and what he is being tried for today is not murder, but cowardice. Everything he did was in fear. He feared dying at Voldemort's hands; he feared dying at my hands once the Potter's were killed. He was correct at fearing the latter… I truly believe he knows what he did was wrong, and that his actions were based on fear, and for that reason I want to see him in Azkaban for life rather than be kissed by a Dementor. This way, he will be forced to relive the memory of turning his best friend over to Voldemort over and over again."

Although Sirius claimed that he would have killed Peter, the more Harry thought of it, the less likely it seemed. Even when Sirius first confronted Peter following the Potter's deaths, Sirius could not to harm him. He had tracked Peter down on that muggle street with every intent on killing him, but when he actually confronted Peter he did not cast a single spell. Every ounce of his rage wanted to duel Peter, but his heart had turned that confrontation into a shouting match rather than a two-sided duel. Also, in the last timeline when they captured Peter at the Shrieking Shack, Sirius refused to cast a spell on Peter. After sitting in Azkaban for years due to a crime Peter committed, Sirius wouldn't even _stun_ his former friend. Harry seriously doubted Sirius would ever have the ability to kill the man.

Sirius stared at Peter's sunken head for a few more moments before adding one last remark, "Fear is no excuse for his actions, but I just want to make sure the Wizardgamot understands that he is not an inherently evil man. I remember the teenager that was quick to laugh and a very loyal friend… I remember him as the fourth Marauder."

"Thank you for your testimony," Madame Bones said. Although the Wizardgamot was unaware of what the Mauderer's were, they didn't press the issue. They understood that Sirius' last statement was more so directed at Peter.

Madame Bones continued, "Our next testimony will come from Remus Lupin, who identified Peter after seeing him at Hogwarts in the possession of Percy Weasley. Percy's testimony will come directly afterwards. Mr. Black, you may return to your seat."

"Sirius…" Peter murmured, still staring at the floor. Sirius stood up without hearing him, turning to return to his seat.

"Sirius…wait…" Peter said once more, this time slightly more pronounced. Sirius heard a noise from behind him time and stopped in his tracks. Remus descended the stairs to the point where Sirius was standing and was about to pass him when Peter's voice rang out once more.

"Sirius… I'm sorry…" Peter said loudly while raising his head and looking at the back of his former best friend. This time, Sirius fully heard him and turned around. He looked back upon the face of a broken man.

Peter's eyes were bloodshot as tears streamed down his face. "I-I-I want t-t-to change my plea,"

Madame Bones stood up from her seat, she could hear a dull the roar of the crowd even through the ward, "And what is your new plea?"

"Guilty," Pete said without stammering as his eyes darted between both Sirius and Remus' shocked faces.

A lot going on in this chapter, please let me know what you think! I know that my characterization is bold in this chapter, but hopefully you are able to understand why I think that each character would react in the way they do. Again, please let me know your opinion, it truly means a lot!

Also, still looking for a beta for grammar and just overall sentence flow! Would love to get your input on the plot also! Message me if interested!


	10. First Impressions

**CHAPTER 10 **

"Harry, come on, it's almost seven o' clock!" Sirius exclaimed from outside Harry's door in Dumbledore's quarters.

If Sirius had opened the door, he would have seen Harry sitting on his bed, staring at the clock resting upon his nightstand. Harry very well knew that it was nearly seven o'clock; he spent the past hour staring at that clock and counting down the minutes. Truthfully, Harry had not planned this far ahead before he decided to go back in time. All of his planning had revolved around freeing Sirius and destroying Voldemort. He rarely thought about how he wanted to deal with his friends. He hadn't anticipated that he would be given the opportunity to see them so soon… He figured that once he freed Sirius, he would have plenty of time to decide how to rebuild his relationship with the Weasley family.

He thought about what to do a bit … just not enough to be prepared for their first meeting. During his restless last few nights in the previous timeline, when he considered the Weasleys, he reached no conclusions. He was torn, during those brief moments, between meeting them at letting the old timeline play itself out before meeting Ron on the Hogwarts Express, and running over to the Weasley's the second he came back and making some wild excuse for being there. He loved that family more than life itself; he had proven that much with his sacrifice in coming back. But he was concerned about meddling in their lives at such an early age.

Ron and Ginny were still much too young to understand the severity of the truth. So, that would mean that he would be forced to lie to them whenever he was around them, or at least hold back the truth. Harry wasn't sure how they would feel about this when they were old enough to learn the truth. They may see it as a necessary action, or, a manipulation of their lives. They had a perfectly happy childhood in the previous timeline without him in their lives; maybe he should let it play out the same way as before. If he doesn't want to be a manipulator, he should meet Ron on the Hogwarts Express, and they would become friends from there.

But at the same time, they were his everything. Why come back in time if it was just to avoid those that you love. What if he wasn't able to stop Voldemort this time, and his days were numbered. How would he feel then about avoiding his best friend and his future wife for years?

"Harry, it's five minutes to seven!" Sirius exclaimed through the door, interrupting Harry's thoughts. "Mrs. Weasley was nice enough to invite us; we should at least be on time! We don't want to leave a bad impression."

Harry rolled off his bed and pulled a jumper over his head, wishing more than anything that it had the Weasley 'W' branded on the front. But the fact remained that he did not have any of those jumpers in this timeline, and he was going to have to earn them. He stepped out the door and joined Sirius in Dumbledore's office, butterflies nearly erupting from his stomach.

"Ready to go?" Sirius asked, already stepping towards the fireplace.

Harry took a deep breath, trying to compose his emotions. In just a few seconds, his second family was going to be spinning into view. Sirius finished lighting the emerald green fire, and turned back towards Harry.

"You want to lead the way? Remember, there residence is called 'The Burrow'," Sirius said, ushering Harry into the fire.

Harry stepped into the fire and closed his eyes before shouting, "The Burrow."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The first thing Harry's senses picked up was the smell. Most people would describe the smell as a large mixture of things. Within it, there was a freshly cooked meal, a bit of smoke (likely from one of the twins' experiments), and a fresh scent coming from the large piece of land the Burrow sat upon. However, Harry did not identify all of these odors; rather, he thought of one word: _Home._

The second thing his senses picked up was the slamming of a door nearby.

Harry opened his eyes, and he jumped slightly when he saw three redheads only feet away from him, staring at the fire with a dumbstruck look upon their faces. Sirius emerged from the fire a few seconds later, but simply nodded to the younger boys as he made his way to the kitchen to greet Mrs. Weasley.

"I thought Mum was pulling our leg…" the twin Harry knew to be Fred said.

"Just trying to get us to come downstairs…" George continued.

"She said Harry Potter would be coming any minute…"

"Told us to act normal…"

"And to not stare at the fire until he came…"

"But we figured there was no way…"

"Percy said that he knew you…"

"But we thought he was pulling our leg too…"

"We do have four legs between the two of us…"

Harry's attention then turned to Ron, who had nothing more to say other than, "Wicked!"

"Sooo you guys know who I am… but who are you?" Harry laughed.

"I'm George," Fred said.

"And I'm Fred," George said.

"Perce told me about you two… So is it safe to assume _you're_ Fred, and _you're_ George," Harry said with a large smile, pointing at the twins correctly.

"I think we are going to get along just fine," George stated.

Harry turned his attention towards Ron as he asked, "And what's your name?"

Ron straightened his shoulders up a bit; he had taken a backseat during this conversation, which was typical when you lived with five older brothers. "Well, technically it's Ronald… but you had better call me Ron. As you can see, I have twins that I can stick on you if you call me by my full name."

Harry laughed as Fred and George let out a ferocious growl, trying to imitate a bloodhound.

"Hey, Harry!" Percy exclaimed, walking into the room. "Sorry if my brothers are annoying you, they tend to do that."

"Hey, Perce, come join us! They aren't annoying me too much yet… And if they do, I have a mass murderer godfather that I can stick on them," Harry sniggered as the younger Weasley boys laughed loudly.

"Well, after what happened today, we all know that Sirius wouldn't hurt a fly," Percy said, before adding in, "…or a rat."

Fred and George stopped laughing from Harry's joke abruptly, and just stared at Percy. Ron quickly quieted down as well.

"Fred, I need a piece of parchment… Ron, I need a quill… NOW!" George exclaimed. Fred and Ron ran to the desk standing in the corner of the room and grabbed the supplies.

"What's todays date?" George asked.

"September 10th," Harry replied.

George put the quill to the paper and began writing, while speaking the words out loud, "Let it be known that on September 10th, 1987, Percival Ignatius Weasley made a joke."

"This is a day that will go down in history," Fred replied.

Harry watched Percy carefully, unsure of how he was going to take this joke. While Fred and George did it lightheartedly, their joke poked fun at Percy's personality. Percy was smiling, but this smile wasn't quite reaching his eyes.

Harry took a step towards Percy and extended his hand, "Congratulations, Percival. That joke was masterful and I'm sure it will be the first of many to come."

Percy fully smiled this time, and returned the handshake with enthusiasm, "It will be."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After a few more minutes of chatting, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry made their way into the kitchen. He was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with Bill and Charlie. Mr. Weasley explained that Dumbledore had allowed all of the Weasley boys to take the day off and come home for the trial.

In no time, Mrs. Weasley assigned each of her sons a task in order to help out with dinner. All at once, Percy and Ron set the table, Bill and Charlie made everyone's plates, and Fred and George brought in a few extra chairs from the garage. Harry stood near Sirius and Mr. Weasley, who were discussing the injustice of using Dementors in Azkaban, but his mind was elsewhere. He had still yet to see Ginny, so the butterflies in his stomach still fluttered away.

Now, a bit anxious and wishing to do something, Harry approached Mrs. Weasley, "Anything I can do to help?"

"Oh no, Harry dear, you can just relax. I have seven children to help me," She replied warmly.

"Speaking of which, have either of you seen Ginny?" she called towards her Percy and Ron.

"Yeah, she was with us waiting for Harry in the living-room, but ran into the garden as he arrived," Ron called back.

"She's probably a bit nervous to meet you. I'm sure that you've noticed this by now, but you're a bit of a celebrity in the wizarding world. When she was a bit younger, I used to read her bedtime stories about you." Mrs. Weasley said. She noticed Harry's blush and continued, "I'm sorry, I know you didn't ask for this fame. I just want you to understand why she is acting the way she is."

Harry let out a small smile, "It's fine, Mrs. Weasley. I know I'll have to get used to it eventually, it's just weird coming from the Dursley's… my relatives… to all this."

Mrs. Weasley gave a bit of a sympathetic frown before Harry continued, "But all of your boys are hard at work on dinner, let me do something… I can go find her."

Before Mrs. Weasley could object, Harry had already begun walking towards the back door.

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Harry walked out the door, struggling to maintain a calm expression. Soon, he would meet the girl that had his heart, and she would have no idea. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with Ginny. While he loved the woman she became more than anything, he was meeting a six-year-old version of her. To her, he would simply be the 'Famous Harry Potter', and nothing more. It would be years before he could act upon his feelings, and even then, he would technically be around sixteen years older than her. He wasn't sure how he would deal with this problem, but he knew that it wasn't a problem that could be solved today. Today, he would be making a first impression, and hopefully would be able to get Ginny to put her shyness aside and talk to him.

While Harry thought about all this, his feet led him to a tall oak tree that stood near Mr. Weasley's shed. While the side of the tree that faced him was barren, he could see a small pair of feet protruding from the opposite side. Harry slowly walked around the tree, and sat down opposite of the small red-headed girl who had been staring out into the meadow.

Ginny's eyes grew large as she glanced instinctively up towards his scar. After confirming that Harry Potter sat before her, she blushed deeply and her brown eyes looked to a point over his shoulder.

"So, you must be Ginny," Harry said, hoping to start a conversation. Ginny simply nodded her head.

"Of course you're Ginny Weasley though… everyone knows who you are. Bright red hair, six older brothers, your dad works at the Ministry, and I even heard you were the first Weasley girl born in generations."

Ginny blushed even harder, "I'm not famous,"

"Sure you are, first Weasley girl born in generations? That's impressive," Harry replied.

"I can't help that… I didn't just decide to be a girl," Ginny said back uncertainly, confused with what Harry was trying to say.

"And I didn't decide to defeat Voldemort that night," Harry said back, in a soft voice. Ginny flinched at the name, but less than Harry was expecting.

"I didn't do anything to become famous; I sat in my cot and watched as my mother died. People call me a hero, but I didn't do anything. They celebrate the day that Voldemort was defeated, but to me that's just the day my parents died. I don't know what happened that night, but it's no fun being famous for something that you had no control over."

Ginny's eyes moved from over his shoulder to meet his. Time seemed to stop as Harry looked into her familiar eyes. He watched her eyes grow watery, and after a brief moment she said, "I'm sorry… about your parents… I've never thought about it like that…"

"It's fine, all I'm really trying to say is that you don't have to be shy with me. I'm just Harry."

Ginny watched him for a few more moments, before reaching out her hand and replying, "Well hi, Just Harry… I'm Just Ginny,"

This time, it was Harry who blushed as he shook her hand. He really felt like just a seven-year-old when he was talking to her, and his seven-year-old self typically didn't interact with girls. This same phenomenon happened a bit when he was joking around with the other Weasleys as well. Harry knew his seven-year-old soul was still in his body, and it seemed as though it could simply poke through the surface when the situation was right.

"Well, Just Ginny, it seems as though we have the same first name," Harry said back with a smirk.

"It appears so, Just Harry," Ginny replied back, returning the smile.

"We should probably head inside… your mum was looking for you," Harry said, getting to his feet. He held his hand out for Ginny, and she took it with a smile as he helped her up.

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Dinner was relatively uneventful, but still delicious. Percy grabbed the seat next to him, with Ron on his other side. Ginny was on the other side of Ron, and Harry couldn't help but notice the sullen look on her face as she took her seat. The twins sat across from Harry, and throughout dinner the boys all talked about Hogwarts. Ron and the twins had never seen the castle, so they peppered Percy with questions. They thought the Percy was joking when he told them about the moving staircases, and after they learned from Harry that he was serious, Percy had to explain to him that there was a method to all the madness and nobody really became lost after their first few days in the castle. Harry felt a bit bad that Ginny wasn't involved in this conversation, but Bill and Charlie were sitting across from her and seemed to be keeping her entertained.

Hogwarts really was the perfect topic of conversation to make Percy feel included. He was the expert in this area, and it seemed as though the twins and Ron had never really talked to Bill and Charlie about what Hogwarts was actually like. Even when the meal ended, Fred, George, and Ron all continued talking to Percy, and Harry could tell that Percy loved the feeling of importance.

Eventually, Mrs. Weasley came in and started having her children help clear the table. Ron managed to sneak out of the kitchen just before his mother looked his way, and signaled for Harry to follow him. Harry was a bit relieved, as he hadn't really had time yet to talk to Ron one-on-one and was beginning to think that he wouldn't have the chance to tonight.

Ron led him into the living-room, and invited Harry to play a game of wizard chess. After quickly explaining the rules, they began to play. At first, Harry considered going easy on him, as he was still only seven-years-old. However, that quickly changed when Ron managed to capture his queen only three moves into the match.

They ended up playing three games, Harry was crushed in the first two but managed to end the third game in a stalemate. As pathetic as it was, Harry was semi-proud of himself for tying Ron. He knew that this was likely the closest he would ever get to a victory, so he couldn't help but smirk.

More important than the outcome of the match was the conversation they had during it. Ron had told him all about Quidditch, and focused on explaining the 'pure talent' that was the Chudley Cannons. Although Harry knew that they wouldn't be winning a championship in the next decade and a half, he decided to go along with it and declare his allegiance to the Chudley Cannons as well.

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After their third game of chess, Sirius found Harry and told him that they should get going, as it was getting late. Harry reluctantly agreed, and made his way around the house saying goodbye to the various Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley gave him a large hug, and told him that he was welcome anytime. Harry didn't see Ginny at first, but she came running down the stairs when she heard Harry saying goodbye to the rest of the family.

Before Harry stepped into the fire, Sirius told him that they weren't going back to Hogwarts right away. Sirius handed him a small sheet of paper and told him to memorize what was on it. Confused, Harry glanced down at the paper and read:

_12 Grimmauld Place_

Harry looked back up at Sirius, thinking that he knew how this night was going to end.

Harry stepped into the fire, and took one last look back at the people standing around the fire, knowing that he had made the right choice in coming back to this timeline. Before him, stood the people he cared about the most in the world, the Weasley family and Sirius. He wasn't sure the next time he would see the Weasleys again, but tonight had been perfect… so far at least.

With a smile on his face, he said goodbye one last time before shouting, "Grimmauld Place!"

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Please leave a quick review! Let me know what you think of the story so far.. I always get a bit excited when I see an email saying someone left a review, so please help me out and leave one!

I'd like to give them a quick thanks to my betas Arnel and RS223 for making this chapter much more readable!


	11. The Revelation

Harry stepped out of the fire, and into the living room of Grimmauld Place. It looked nicer than Harry had ever seen it. Even after all Mrs. Weasley's cleaning during the summer after Harry's fourth year, the place never looked this... homey. It was much more than just clean, Sirius had bought all new furniture and had applied a fresh coat of paint to the walls. The large window overlooking the street was completely clean, letting rays of sunlight streak into the room. In the middle of the room hung a beautiful chandelier. Clouds caused the light, that reflected off the chandelier, to dance. Sirius appeared behind him, and loudly said, "Ta-da! Welcome to my home!"

"IS THAT MY BLOOD TRAITORING, GOOD FOR NOTHING, SON? YOU PIECE OF FILTH, GET OUT!"

Sirius sighed, "And that is my dearest mother's portrait. I'll be right back."

Sirius ran out of the room, but came back within a minute. He took Harry on a small tour of the house, showing him each room, including multiple spare bedrooms. Harry noticed one spare bedroom in particular that was different from the rest. It was the bedroom across the hall from Sirius' master bedroom. Even though it was a spare room, Harry noticed the Quidditch posters on the wall featured players that were rookies this year. Also, while all the other guest rooms contained queen beds with matching cream comforters, this room held a king-sized bed with a vibrant emerald-green comforter.

"So Harry… do you like this room?" Sirius questioned uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's brilliant! It's the nicest room I've ever seen! It's even nicer than the one Dudley slept in," Harry replied excitedly. This excitement wasn't feigned, as his seven-year-old self was very excited at the prospect of having his own room. His room at the Dursley's was nothing more than a cupboard, and while the room at Hogwarts was brilliant, it wasn't truly his.

"Well… it's yours if you want it… What I'm trying to say is… you can live here with me if you want… Now that my name has been cleared, I would love to be your guardian if let me," Sirius said, biting his lip after he finished.

Harry smiled at his godfather, trying to refrain from laughing at the look of insecurity on the normally-cheeky man's face. But his smile faded, as he thought about how Sirius had no idea what he was signing up for.

Sirius watched Harry's excitement turn to what could only be described as dread, and his heart sank. He had expected Harry to be excited at the prospect, but something was obviously bothering him. Realizing that he had put Harry on the spot, Sirius said, "I don't need an answer this second, you can think about it for as long as you need…"

"It's not that…" Harry began, "Do we have a little while? I need to talk to you…"

"Of course, we have all the time in the world," Sirius replied.

"We might need it," Harry said, giving Sirius a small smirk, "Can we go sit somewhere?"

"Let's go to the kitchen, I'll have my house-elf bring us some snacks in a little while," Sirius replied.

"Sounds good," Harry said, and turned to walk out the door. Before he left the room, he turned back around and wrapped his small arms around Sirius' midsection. Sirius looked down at the vulnerable boy, and patted Harry's back consolingly. As Harry let go, he grabbed Sirius' wand from its holster on his waist. He then stepped behind Sirius, put the wand in the waist of his pants, and covered the rest of it with his shirt.

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"Well, sit down and tell me what's on your mind," Sirius said, taking a seat at the kitchen table and pointing to the seat across from his own. Harry slowly took his seat, and placed Sirius' wand on the seat next to him, which was hidden by the table.

"Sirius… I really appreciate what you're trying to do… but before you make that kind of commitment, there's something I need to tell you," Harry said, glancing down at his shaking hands.

"Harry, there's nothing you can say that will change my mind," Sirius replied immediately, trying to ease the young man's concerns.

"We'll see about that…" Harry muttered under his breath.

Harry sat there for a few moments, staring at his folded hands on the table. Finally, he looked up at Sirius, "Before I say anything, I need you to understand that you cannot repeat this to anyone else… not even Dumbledore…"

Sirius looked at him warily for a fraction of a second, surprised at the seriousness laced in Harry's voice. Quickly recovering, he winked at Harry, "Your secrets are safe with me."

Harry looked back down at his hands for another moment, deciding where best to start. Still looking at his hands, he said in a voice that betrayed his age, "That night… when my parents died and Voldemort was killed… is it fair to say that you nearly lost everything?"

Sirius leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. Harry wasn't sure if he was considering Harry's question, or if he was trying to determine why Harry asked it.

"I think that's fair to say… Your dad was the best friend I could have ever hoped for, and your mother was the most caring person I've ever met. I was betrayed by a man that I nearly considered a brother, and lost contact with Remus since he thought I was guilty. Other than you, it's fair to say that I pretty much lost everything I cared about. Up until I was released from Azkaban at least."

"I really want you to think about this next question… think about your last night in Azkaban, when you had no idea the truth would ever be discovered. Imagine someone came up to you and told you that you could do the night of my parent's death all over again… that you could try to save them. But, if you save them, then you know that Voldemort won't be defeated that night. What would you do?"

"Harry… I don't see what this has to do with anything," Sirius said, his voice cracking the slightest bit.

"Answer the question, Sirius," Harry replied.

"It's not even a question. I would save them, and I would figure out why Peter did what he did," Sirius replied immediately, tears filling his eyes, "We would find another way to defeat Voldemort."

Harry watched Sirius for a moment, with a sad smile creeping onto his face. His voice began to shake as he said, "I thought you would say that… and I agree with you… Sirius… I'm… I'm not who you think I am…"

Sirius shook his head, "Harry, I know I've only known you a week, but I have a pretty good idea of who you are."

His voice still shaking, Harry replied, "Sirius… I made that choice…"

Harry watched Sirius closely as he progressed through various emotions. At first, his face wore a confused expression, as he tried to understand what Harry meant, before his jaw dropped and he stuttered out, "You… you mean… you mean something else by the whole 'I'm not who I think I am'…"

Harry nodded, "I'm not seven…"

"If this is some kind of game…" Sirius started.

Harry cut him off, "It's not."

"So, how old are you?" Sirius said, with skepticism in his voice.

"Twenty-two."

"So what, you're telling me you came back from 2004?" Sirius questioned, purposefully doing the math wrong.

"Actually 2002," Harry answered as he watched Sirius' face get slightly more serious.

"So, 'Harry of the Future', tell me something that proves you're telling the truth," Sirius said in a bit of a harsh voice, challenging Harry to convince him.

Harry thought for a second, thinking of things that he shouldn't know as a seven-year-old, "Remus is a werewolf,"

"I'm surprised he told you that already," Sirius replied unfazed.

"Your cousin is Bellatrix Lestrange,"

"So you did some research on my family tree; that isn't hard to find… there are so few purebloods left."

"She tortured Alice and Frank Longbottom into insanity,"

"So you saw some old clippings from the Prophet in the Hogwarts library…" Sirius said, with a bit more uncertainty in his voice.

Harry took a breath and turned his attention to his folded hands once more. Harry looked back up at Sirius, knowing how he could convince him.

"Summon Kreacher," Harry finally said.

Sirius looked at him uncertainly, confused as to how Harry would even know the name of his house-elf. Looking at nothing in particular, Sirius called out, "Kreacher!"

With a small crack, Kreacher appeared. Harry looked at his once close friend, saddened to see the state of him. Kreacher looked as though he had not bathed in months, and his rags were covered in dirt and filled with holes.

"Master Sirius has summoned Kreacher," Kreacher started, offering a reluctant bow, "Kreacher wonders what brat his blood-traitor master has brought into his mother's home."

"Shut-up Kreacher," Sirius ordered, before turning his attention towards Harry.

"In your drawing room, there is a desk. In that desk, there is a locket with an S engraved on the back. Kreacher knows what it looks like, have him go get it," Harry said. Sirius had to relay the message to Kreacher, since he refused to take the order from Harry. Harry could see the concern on Sirius' face deepen when he saw the wide eyes of Kreacher while giving the order.

After Kreacher disappeared, Harry started, "You had a brother named Regulus. He joined Voldemort's forces at the age of sixteen..."

"And he died after getting cold feet… he was an evil coward," Sirius replied.

"You may want to reconsider that… While in Voldemort's army, he learned Voldemort's largest secret. I'll explain it properly later, but he found out that Voldemort had split his soul and had hidden parts of it in different objects, making him immortal. Each of these objects are known as a Horcrux."

"But Voldemort died…"

"I'll explain that too, but he didn't die… just stick with me for a second," Harry replied, a bit overwhelmed by the thought of the amount of information he had to tell Sirius. "Voldemort created several Horcruxes, and your brother sought to destroy them. One of those Horcruxes is a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

Kreacher walked slowly back into the room, his tear-filled eyes staring at the locket in his small hands. He marched up to Sirius, handing him the locket with a look of shame on his face, while muttering, "Couldn't do it… tried everything… put my hands in the oven…"

"What the bloody hell are you muttering?" Sirius shot at Kreacher, taking his stress out on the house-elf. Harry remembered the animosity between his two friends in the last timeline, and they had never gotten over it by the time Sirius died. Hopefully, he could make things better this time around.

"He was there. Voldemort used him to test the protections surrounding one of Horcruxes. He put Kreacher through hell. When Kreacher returned, Regulus ordered him to take him to that same place. Regulus stole the Horcrux and, knowing his death was imminent, ordered Kreacher to destroy it," Harry said, looking at Kreacher with sympathy, "But Horcruxes can't be destroyed with normal magic, or even elf magic. There are very few ways to destroy them, and Kreacher was unable to do it."

"Kreacher… Kreacher spent months learning to read… After Kreacher tried all the magic he knew, Kreacher hoped the answer was in a book… Kreacher wouldn't sleep for days… but punished himself every night at midnight for failing…" Kreacher stammered.

Sirius looked between Kreacher and Harry, his face covered in awe. This was it; there was no way to explain how Harry knew that the locket would be in that drawer. Plus, his story was too intricate to be a lie, and Kreacher's stammering supported it.

"So… twenty-two?" Sirius said a bit awkwardly, admitting defeat.

"Yup," Harry nodded.

Sirius stared at his hands, a million questions racing through his mind. Harry let him be, unable to imagine how much shock Sirius was experiencing. He took it as well as Harry could have hoped though. Sirius hadn't reached for his wand yet. After several minutes, Sirius looked back up at the seven-year-old boy before him. Shaking his head, he said the one question that he cared about the most, "Why?"

"Because you died… because nearly all the Weasleys died… because Lupin died… the Order of the Phoenix was destroyed… Everyone I had ever cared about died… Voldemort was reborn during my fourth year, and by my sixth year Britain was in a full out war against him. He overthrew the Ministry, killed nearly all the Muggle-borns in the country, and tracked down anyone that opposed him. It took me years to finally defeat him… and by the time I did, it was too late. Everyone I fought for was dead. I didn't know what to do… so I just sat there and drank... I drank and thought about how I wanted to die. I was just about to end it when Kreacher found me and told me that he had found someone I should talk to… that there was a way that I could save all of you… I met with him, and with Percy Weasley's help, I came back," Harry said, tears flowing down his young face.

Sirius stared at him, trying to digest everything Harry said. Finally, he understood why Harry had begun by asking him if he would have saved James and Lily. Harry had to make that same choice, and was still wondering if he made the right one.

"How?" Sirius said, his face solemn.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Harry replied.

"And why is that?" Sirius asked, with a bit of an indignant tone.

"Because you're too much like me… You even said that you would trade it all away if that meant you could change the events from the night my parents died… I can't let you do that. I thought about it, but that night needs to happen. We need Voldemort to be temporarily defeated, so we can plan on how to finally destroy him with minimal casualties. Believe me, I wanted to go back to save my parents… but it just wouldn't make any sense. I'm the only one that can defeat him, and I can't do that as an infant. Plus, he wouldn't rest he killed me… even in hiding, my parent's days were numbered."

"So you don't trust me?" Sirius questioned, his voice daring Harry to say no.

"I do… but as I said, you're instinctive… I am too, so don't take that as an insult… but I never want anyone else to be able to travel as far back in time as I did… Maybe I'll tell you some of the details eventually, but not until you have a chance to really think over the repercussions."

Sirius let out an unwilling smirk, "It's weird hearing such knowledge coming from a seven-year-old's mouth,"

"It's weird trying to dumb down every conversation so that I seem like a seven-year-old," Harry smirked back.

"Well, I'm going to send a message to Dumbledore telling him that you're going to stay here tonight… In the meantime, Kreacher, can you make us some coffee? I expect that it's going to be a pretty long night," Sirius said. Harry noticed that he didn't command Kreacher to make the coffee, but instead asked politely.

"Yes… I expect it will be," Harry replied.

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Harry sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. They'd spent hours in the kitchen while Harry had walked Sirius through every aspect of his life that he remembered. He breezed through first year, as it lacked many important moments. Sirius' jaw dropped when Harry told him that he made the Quidditch team first year, and Harry had to promise that they would play soon before he could continue his story.

Harry described each year in as much detail he could remember. He told Sirius all about Riddle's diary, Sirius' longer imprisonment, Pettigrew's escape, the Quidditch World Cup, the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort's revival, Umbridge becoming headmistress, the Prophecy, and the battle in the Department of Mysteries (Sirius cursed when he told him that Bellatrix killed him). He talked about everything he learned sixth year about Voldemort, and how he skipped seventh year in order to hunt Horcruxes.

He also talked about all the friends he made in the process. It was an unusual sensation describing the friends Harry once had, as he would have to build each relationship all over again. What concerned Harry the most was the idea that the people his friends become may very well be different than the people he once knew if his actions were drastic enough.

When it was all said and done, Harry had told him everything he could remember, including Voldemort's final defeat. It had taken years, but when Voldemort killed the last person that he could think of that had any relation to Harry, he decided to finally duel a demoralized Harry. However, his wand failed him, as Harry had won it years ago when he disarmed Draco Malfoy, who had disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower. Harry told Sirius how he watched Tom Riddle fall to his own Killing Curse.

Finally, Harry sat in silence. Sirius had been questioning him throughout his story, trying to fill in the blanks that Harry forgot, but he had saved one question for the very end.

"Harry… I understand why this has to be a secret, especially from your friends… they are still much too young to hear this… but I don't understand why you want to keep this from Dumbledore… he's the brightest wizard alive… he could help."

"I've given it a lot of thought, Sirius, but I can't tell him yet. I went along with his route last time, and while it ended up in me defeating Voldemort, it was way too long of a path. But in Dumbledore's mind, it may very well have been worth it. If I didn't stop him, Voldemort could have killed thousands more than he did. We had casualties, but there could have been many, many, more. I couldn't live with the fact that we lost as many as we did, so that's why I came back. However, Dumbledore may be able to cope with the result, and choose to Obliviate me, and now you too, in order to try to have that same result happen. When you think about the rest of the wizarding world… all the people who did survive… your death, along with all the others, was simply for the 'greater good'."

"But when we eventually stray far enough from the last timeline… so that he cannot count on the timeline repeating itself… then you will tell him?"

"I think so, but not until I'm sure. He's a great wizard, and an even greater person, but I don't want to do what's best for mankind. I want to do what's best for the people I love, and I'm hoping that overlaps with what is best for the wizarding world." Harry said solemnly.

"And what about Remus?" Sirius questioned, obvious that he wanted to tell his best friend.

"I'm not sure… I trust him, but I've mainly been focusing on how to tell you so far," Harry answered. Harry's gut told him that he should tell Remus, but he would have to give it more thought.

"Fair enough, but I don't want to lie to one of my only friends," Sirius responded.

"I know," Harry said, thinking of how he was going to have to lie to all of his friends, "But until then, I have your word that you won't tell anyone about this?"

"You have my word, Harry," Sirius replied, hoping that the truthfulness of what he was saying was evident in his voice.

"Now, I need you to also command Kreacher that he cannot repeat a word of this to anyone,"

Sirius had overlooked Kreacher, but he had listened to every word by the doorway for the past few hours. Harry knew that he was there, but didn't quite trust him yet. Eventually he would, but Kreacher's mind was in an unpredictable state at the moment.

Kreacher did not resist, but did not look happy when Sirius gave him the order. Harry remembered his promise to Kreacher in the previous timeline, and saw an opportunity to start building a relationship with his old friend. Harry grabbed the locket off of the table, and felt the metallic heartbeat in his hands. He looked at it for a moment before handing it to Kreacher.

"Kreacher, I know you want to destroy this, but it's not possible… yet. I know how to destroy it, but it will be a few years before we are able to. In the meantime, it is essential that this stays safe. I'll make you a deal though… if you promise to keep it safe, I promise you that when we obtain the means to destroy it, that you will be the one to do it. You will finally be able to fulfill Regulus' last request."

Kreacher stared at Harry for a brief moment, before offering him a small bow, "Kreacher will keep it safe,"

"You can't wear it though Kreacher, it needs to be hidden," Harry said, giving the elf a small smirk while imagining an even grumpier than usual Kreacher.

"Kreacher will hide it in his quarters, and place every spell he knows around it," Kreacher offered.

Harry nodded, "And Sirius will add a few more protections around it as well. Between elf magic and Sirius' spells, it should be safe,"

Sirius watched Kreacher closely, and recalled that Harry explained that he led other house-elves in the Battle of Hogwarts. Maybe… deep down… behind all the prejudices that his mother's portrait had Kreacher believing over these past few years… he was still salvageable.

Kreacher left the room with the locket with a determined look on his face.

Sirius turned his attention back towards Harry, "I do have one last question though… why now? Why did you come back this far? Nobody died in your first three years of school; couldn't you have just appeared then? You would have already built a lot of these friendships that I know you're worrying about rebuilding."

"I wasn't going to leave you in Azkaban for a minute more than necessary," Harry said, giving his godfather a small smile.

"Well, I'll be sure to give you the childhood you never experienced… that is, if you'll let me be your guardian…" Sirius said, returning the smile with a tear in his eye.

"As long as my bedtime is after eight o' clock,"

"Deal," Sirius laughed, before looking at his watch, "But four o'clock in the morning is a pushing it… are you good to call it a night?"

"One last thing," Harry said in a small voice, grabbing Sirius' wand off of the seat beside him and handing it back to its rightful owner.

The smile faded off of Sirius' face, as he stared at the wand in his hand before looking back up at Harry.

"What… what were you going to do if I didn't agree to keep your secret?" Sirius questioned, unsettled by the turn of events.

"To be honest... I'm not completely sure… Probably try to Obliviate you…" Harry said truthfully.

"This can't happen again," Sirius said, disappointment evident in his voice, "I'm on your side… but I can't live with the thought that if I disagree with you, I'll end up Obliviated."

"I know… I just had to make sure that you weren't going to run to Dumbledore without hearing the full story. We may not always agree, but I won't ever threaten you again. I'm trying to save you… I'm trying to save everyone."

Sirius nodded before turning around to head up the stairs. When he was a few steps up, he turned back towards Harry, "Just remember that in order to save someone, you have to let them live."

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Please review! A whole lot going on in this chapter, and I'm really curious about your thoughts on the conversation! I read every review, and really appreciate each one!

Shout-out to my betas Arnel and RS223 for making this chapter much more readable!


	12. A Different Fate

Four sleepless hours later, Harry wandered back downstairs. His mind raced all through the night, fixated on Sirius' last words before he came to bed. In order to save someone, you have to let them live. It didn't seem like Sirius was angry with him for stealing his wand. He seemed more disappointed … Disappointed towards Harry feeling the need for insurance in case Sirius wanted to go to Dumbledore.

In the end, Harry was forced to conclude that he would have done it the same way if he had to do it again. It was much more than a matter of trust; it was a matter of life and death. He knew the old Sirius, the one from his timeline, but going into that conversation, he wasn't confident that this Sirius trusted him yet. Sirius had only known him for a week, and it was entirely possible that he would have gone to Dumbledore since his relationship with the Headmaster was much stronger. Had he done that, Harry very well may not have his twenty-two-year-old memories this morning.

Did he want to have to force Sirius' hand? Not at all… but it would have been reckless to allow one man's choice to ruin his entire plan. Sirius could have sealed the fate of all his friends last night by going to Dumbledore. He could have made it so Ginny would be dismembered, Ron tortured, and Hermione raped. Sirius' disappointment was nothing compared to what could have been…

Harry wandered into the kitchen to make himself coffee, but found a mug already sitting on the table. Kreacher stood in the corner, shifting his posture every few seconds, as if uncertain of what to do with himself.

"Kreacher… Kreacher heard light footsteps coming down the stairs…"

Harry studied the elf for a moment. Harry was not his master, and Sirius was still upstairs. Kreacher had made the coffee simply as a favor. It really was amazing how quickly his attitude changed if you showed him just the slightest bit of care. Harry knew that trusting him with the locket meant the world to him, and he was trying his best to show his appreciation.

Harry smiled at the elf and sat down at the table, "Kreacher, do you want to make yourself a cup and sit with me?"

Kreacher hesitated, not knowing how to reply to such a simple question. Nobody had ever offered him a cup, nor requested his company.

Harry recognized Kreacher's hesitation, and said, "If you don't make yourself a cup, I will."

Kreacher's eyes bulged, and he snapped his fingers as quickly as possible, not wanting a wizard to wait on him. A few seconds later, a freshly brewed cup of coffee floated into his hands, and he slowly made his way to the table. He took the seat diagonal from Harry, seemingly wary of being too close and bothering him.

Harry scooted down a seat, so he was sitting directly across from Kreacher. "It's weird… sitting across from you again… In my mind, I was with you just a few weeks ago… I know this probably means very little to you right now… but… you're the reason … well, you're why I'm here… why I survived the war… and why I have this second chance to save so many lives. It's weird thanking you for something you did in another timeline… but I just feels wrong not saying 'thank you' for everything you did."

Kreacher nodded uncomfortably, not quite sure what to say. Harry waited for a response, but one never came. Instead, they sat there in silence. Although Harry was disappointed the elf wasn't speaking, it wasn't really an uncomfortable silence. Harry had missed the elf over the past few weeks, and was thankful enough to just remain in his company once more.

Kreacher quickly finished his cup, and washed it out before returning to his cupboard. Harry sat at the table a bit longer, and his thoughts wandered to his interactions with the Weasleys the night before. It seemed as though they liked him enough, and he couldn't have asked for a better time with them. It was a bit difficult to spend time with all of them, as his attention was split between so many people; but, he thought he did a good job cementing a small friendship with Ron, while also making friends with Fred and George as well. He was surprised Percy had hung out with them for as long as he did; Harry believed he would try instead to act mature and hang around the adults in order to 'impress' his younger siblings, but that was not the case.

The most unusual encounter was seeing Ginny. He thought he did a good job befriending her, making her see him as a person rather than some hero from a fairytale. Hopefully, that would help her overcome the initial shyness from the previous timeline. Even though they didn't interact much, he could consider her as a friend, right? Yes. She did run down the stairs to say goodbye… she wouldn't have done that if she was still uncomfortable around him. So, it was safe to say they were friends, and for the time being, he was very content with simply being friends. She had years to mature before he could ever consider a relationship with her, but he was glad that his 'seven-year-old self' had really taken over when he interacted with her. Harry was relieved that he would not simply be some twenty-two-year-old creeping on a six-year-old. Somewhere inside him was his seven-year-old soul, and it seemed to know the perfect times to show itself.

And then there was Sirius. He took the truth much better than Harry had anticipated, and he was extremely relieved that he wasn't forced to perform a memory charm. Harry trusted his word, and that he would not go to Dumbledore. Sirius obviously wasn't happy about the wand incident, but hopefully he would get past that soon enough.

As that thought crossed his mind, he heard the stairs creak as Sirius made his way downstairs. Harry, a bit unsure of himself, simply sat at the table and continued to sip on his coffee.

When Sirius entered the kitchen, he glanced at Harry. Harry reclined in his chair. Sirius's tense expression unnerved him a bit. Soon, Sirius headed over to the stove to cook some eggs in a frying pan.

"How many do you want?" Sirius asked, without looking at Harry.

"I'm good, thanks though," Harry replied politely.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and continued cooking. A few moments later, after the kitchen began to smell of burnt toast, Sirius headed towards the table with slightly blackened toast along with nearly a dozen scrambled eggs. He grabbed a second plate, and shoved roughly half of them onto the other plate before placing it in front of Harry.

"You're a growing boy, eat up," Sirius said, giving Harry a small wink.

"So… are we okay, then?" Harry said uncertainly.

"We're fine," Sirius began, "My issue was that… I mean last night was the first time I saw the true you. You've pretty much been faking everything from the beginning, and it was a little unnerving seeing you with my wand. I stand by what I said, in that you can't just manipulate me if I don't see things your way… even at twenty-two, you're still young… What you went through is nearly unimaginable, and after giving it some thought, I can't really blame you for being overly cautious."

"As I said last night, I'm trying to save you…"

"And I'll always consider what you have to say before I make my decisions. But when it comes down to it, we have the same goal… to defeat Voldemort and limit the casualties," Sirius said, cutting him off.

"But we can't let Dumbledore know…"

"I've thought about that, and to be honest I don't know him as well as you do. I trust your judgement… now; do you have any kind of plan in mind? What's our next move?" Sirius asked, taking a bite of his eggs.

"I haven't given it too much thought, but I figured I'd spend these next few years gathering as many of the Horcruxes as I could," Harry explained.

"You mean 'we'" Sirius responded immediately.

Harry looked at him seriously, "You're sure?"

"Even though it's been fake, I've enjoyed this past week with you. Also, based on what you've told me about my future self, we will get along just fine," Sirius replied.

"It hasn't been completely fake," Harry said shyly, "I mean, I've enjoyed it too. I act like I don't know things that I do, but other than that it's all been real… right?"

"Right, but still, it will be nice to be able to have a conversation with the twenty-two-year-old you… given you haven't killed too many brain cells playing dumb," Sirius teased. Sirius took another large bite of his eggs, "So, tell me again about these Horcruxes… which ones can we easily retrieve?"

"It shouldn't be difficult to collect most of them… We have the locket; the diary will be pretty much handed to us in my second year; Gaunt's ring shouldn't be hard to find; I can grab Ravenclaw's Diadem anytime at Hogwarts; Hufflepuff's Cup may give us some trouble… but I think we will figure out a way to get it."

"The Black Family Vault sits next to the Lestrange's, so we may be able to use that somehow… But what about the other two…" Sirius said, looking at Harry with concern.

"The snake didn't become a Horcrux until after Voldemort was resurrected, so we don't know if we'll even have to deal with that one…"

"Finish answering the question, Harry," Sirius replied.

"In order to destroy Voldemort, he needs to resurrect. Last time, I survived his Killing Curse, and he destroyed his soul living within me, in the Forbidden Forest because he had resurrected using my blood…so if we can make that happen again, then hopefully it will work the same way… Pettigrew was the one who helped resurrect him last time, so we will probably have to break him out of Azkaban so he can do it once more," Harry answered, not sounding overly confident in his plan.

"So that was why you asked me to suggest life in Azkaban rather than a Dementor's Kiss at the trial… Clever, very clever… When are you thinking of doing all of this then? Retrieving all the Horcruxes and breaking Wormtail out?"

"At first, I thought we should gather the Horcruxes as soon as possible… but then I gave it more thought. We don't have the means of destroying a Horcrux yet, and likely won't have access to the Sword of Gryffindor until I'm in school. I don't know what will happen in this house over the next few years, since it wasn't used in the last timeline, so it's an added layer of risk storing them here. I think it's best to leave them at their current locations for now, since we know that they will be safe. We should think about how to get our hands on the cup, since that one doesn't have an easy answer, but otherwise I was thinking that we could retrieve Gaunt's Ring right before I go to Hogwarts, and I'll grab the Ravenclaw's Diadem during my first term."

"And Wormtail?" Sirius questioned.

"We can let him loose after my third year. We'll have to pay him a visit in Azkaban in order to tell him how to escape… He'll be able to easily escape since he's an unregistered Animagus. It wasn't until after third year last time that he began searching for Voldemort, so he should be able to find him at the same time this time around."

Sirius nodded, deep in thought, "That all makes sense… on the surface at least. What about during your Hogwarts years? Do you have a plan on how to deal with Quirrell? And with Tom Riddle's Diary?"

"Quirrell will be a no-brainer… I just have to bump into him one day… he will die at my touch, so I can do that innocently enough. And I'll get the diary from Ginny as soon as possible after Malfoy plants it on her… I'm not going to let second year repeat itself," Harry said with confidence.

"Fair enough," Sirius said, nodding his head once more in agreement. "You know who would be great at determining the risks with every change you made?"

Harry sighed, "Lupin."

"He always was warning James and me about the consequences of our pranks… Moony can balance risks and rewards better than anyone I know," Sirius said earnestly.

"I know we should tell him… But I just don't like the idea of many people knowing yet," Harry said, with a bit of a childish plea in his voice.

"Just one more, Harry, it'll probably be years before you tell anyone else… But give me this one. Don't make me lie to my best mate."

Harry nodded, "As long as you understand what's at stake here…"

"I do," Sirius said simply.

"We can tell him then, together. But not right now… We should be getting back to Hogwarts soon, so we can tell Dumbledore that we want to make this guardianship official. We can tell Lupin later this week, once I'm all moved in."

"You don't have much stuff," Sirius pointed out.

"I know…" Harry responded.

"Well, you can move here today… It won't take long to move your things from Hogwarts,"

Harry shrugged, "Sure, I'll move in today. The sooner the better."

"And so we can tell Moony… tonight…"

Harry shifted in his seat. He had only told Sirius the truth yesterday… he didn't really want to have to go over that entire conversation again tonight, but he saw the look in Sirius' eye, and knew that he was dead set on telling Lupin as soon as possible.

"Fine," Harry said, deciding not to protest. "As long as you jump in and tell parts of the story. It's a draining story to tell."

"Deal!" Sirius excitedly agreed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A little while later, Harry and Sirius stepped out of the fire in Dumbledore's office and into the sight of the old man's twinkling eyes.

"Ah, good morning to you both… how was your night?" Dumbledore asked warmly.

Sirius glanced towards Harry before responding, "Quiet night, just sat there and talked really."

"What about?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Well, I brought up his guardianship… and Harry agreed for me to be his new guardian!" Sirius responded.

Dumbledore's eyes moved towards Harry, before saying, "I think that is a wonderful idea. I couldn't pick a better man to raise you. That being said, Sirius, have you thought about work at all yet?"

"I have been fortunate enough to inherit a decent sum of money from my dear parents, plus the Ministry will be paying me a large sum for my wrongful imprisonment… I've had nearly every wizarding lawyer try to contact me… so I was thinking I may take a few years off and just focus on raising Harry until he comes to Hogwarts. I showed him a few magic tricks last night, and he was stunned. I've never seen someone get so excited over the levitation of a pen. It will, of course, be years… if not decades… before he is able to do such a miraculous feat, but I may as well start schooling him a bit," Sirius said, throwing Harry a cheeky grin.

"That sounds like a fine idea, Sirius. I trust that you'll teach him a bit more than pranking?"

"We'll see," Sirius replied laughing.

Just then, there was a rapid knocking on the door to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore looked alarmed as he magically opened the door and a small student ran into the room panting. Harry did not recognize this student, but he guessed that the boy was in his third year.

"Headmaster… It's Professor Trelawney… something is not right…" the boy said, panting.

Dumbledore ran out of the room without a second glance, and didn't bother to tell Harry and Sirius not to follow. Harry chased after him, and Sirius chased after Harry. Soon enough, all three of them were climbing the ladder to the topmost classroom in North Tower.

Professor Trelawney sat at her desk, her eyes glazed over and stared into nothingness. About thirty students sat around the room, all uncomfortable and unaware of what they should be doing. Her breaths were deep and raspy, and seemed to fill the silent room. Dumbledore rushed to her desk, and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

At his touch, all of the candles in the room began to flicker, and a few were extinguished. Professor Trelawney rolled her neck, and her eyes connected with Dumbledore. In the deep voice that Harry recalled from his third year at Hogwarts, she prophesized…

_"He has been given a second chance… a chance to right the wrongs of his past… But in his quest to protect the one he holds above all others, he will be struck down by the Head of the Phoenix. For there cannot be life without death, and only his death will enable life."_

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

The next chapter will be posted soon, it's already written and just being edited! I know this is getting old, but I really want you to review and let me know your thoughts! It really helps me write the story, and gives me inspiration and new ideas on exactly where the story is headed! I have a general sense, but when I write each chapter I find that I'll make an on the spot decision regarding a plot point, so this story will be pretty dynamic and I consider everything you have to say!


	13. The Revelation II

_"He has been given a second chance… a chance to right the wrongs of his past… But in his quest to protect the one he holds above all others, he will be struck down by the Head of the Phoenix. For there cannot be life without death, and only his death will enable life."_

The room around Harry seemed to melt away, yet he was frozen to his spot. He gazed at Dumbledore, waiting for him to turn around and strike. Dumbledore was the Head of the Phoenix, that much was certain. He had fought Voldemort for years, and led the Order of the Phoenix through the first war… and will lead them again in the second war; although Harry never heard of that title before, no one deserved it more than Dumbledore.

Harry watched his would-be murderer closely, specifically waiting for Dumbledore's hand to make a movement towards his wand. Eventually, Dumbledore was destined to 'strike him' down. Harry could only assume that Dumbledore would learn about his secret eventually, and decide it best to eliminate Harry… maybe after he already defeated Voldemort, or maybe Dumbledore will think the original prophecy was null and kill him before he was even able to conquer Voldemort. Regardless, the fact remained the same… the seemingly gentle man in front of him, the man who he considered an idol, was going to kill him.

Harry glanced at Sirius, who looked even grimmer than Harry. It was apparent that he had un-riddled the prophecy and come to the same conclusion as Harry. Harry watched Sirius' hand slowly move towards his wand, when it came to a rest just inches away from the grip.

Harry's paranoia was interrupted by his future killer's voice, "Class dismissed,"

Harry took a step towards the exit, before Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. Sirius gave him a sharp nod, before carefully approaching Dumbledore.

"Is she going to be alright?" Sirius asked the Headmaster.

"Did something happen?" Trelawney asked back, unaware of the prophecy she just revealed.

"You just made a prophecy," Dumbledore said gently.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT I SAID," Trelawney shouted, snapping out of her usual blissfulness.

"I know, Sybill," Dumbledore responded.

"Why can't she know?" Harry inquired, suddenly realizing that she had never known the prophecies she made in the previous timeline either. Dumbledore had not told her about the one at Hog's Head Inn, and Harry never told her about the one she made in third year.

"Being a seer is incredibly dangerous… In darker times, they were kidnapped and Dark wizards who would perform a kind of mind-reading technique on them, so they would know every prophecy the seer has made."

"My grandmother…" Sybill began, before Harry cut her off.

"I'm sorry…" Harry replied in understanding.

"No worries, my dear. If I wasn't so exhausted right now, I would perform some readings on you… but being a seer is very tiring work; perhaps some other day," Trelawney said, making Harry hope this would be the last time he saw the professor for quite some time.

"Well, we will let you rest. I'll cancel your classes for the rest of the day, let me know if you need anything," Dumbledore said in a comforting tone, before leading Harry and Sirius out of the room.

Immediately after they descended the ladder from the North Tower, Sirius turned to Dumbledore, "Do you know what it means? The prophecy? Who is it talking about?"

Dumbledore paused for a moment, and watched Harry descend the ladder. His eyes stayed on the young boy as he responded, "No idea."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry spun out of the fire and stepped into Grimmauld Place. Sirius followed a few seconds later, and quickly sat down on the sofa and put his hands on his head.

"He's going to kill me…" Harry said in disbelief.

"Not all prophecies come true…" Sirius replied back; yet his voice lacked even a shred of confidence.

"I've yet to see one fail…" Harry responded.

"But why would he kill you?" Sirius questioned. "You're the only one that can defeat Voldemort… he can't kill the only chance he has in destroying Voldemort."

"But what about afterwards?" Harry argued. "There is nothing stopping him from killing me after I defeat him."

"It just doesn't make sense. Dumbledore just doesn't kill."

"Sirius, I broke just about every law in order to come back… it's against nature. Maybe Dumbledore wants to make sure that nobody ever does it again."

"Still seems like a weak reason," Sirius replied.

"Even still, it doesn't matter why he does it. The fact remains that he is going to, most likely after I defeat Voldemort… if Voldemort doesn't kill me, that is."

"Well, I guess that's a slight positive right? At least this prophecy is saying that you'll die by Dumbledore's hand, rather than Voldemort's… and if we're guessing that Dumbledore wouldn't pull the trigger until after you defeat Voldemort, than this is prophesying that you defeat him… right?"

"I guess so… I just hope that everyone else remains safe…"

"Oh, here comes the selfless Harry," Sirius teased, winking at the young boy, "You remind me so much of James sometimes. We just heard your death prophesied, and within thirty seconds you're worrying about others instead of yourself."

"I've walked to my death before, and although I want to live more than anything, I have always accepted that I'm most likely going to live a short life. Plus, with these extra years I have from traveling back in time, I'll probably be alive just as long as my dad was."

"That's still young," Sirius said softly.

"A wise man once told me that death is but the next great adventure," Harry replied.

"Damn, the other version of me was deep…"

"That was Dumbledore," Harry said, letting out a loud laugh and sticking out his tongue.

"Oh…" Sirius responded sheepishly, a rare blush redden his cheeks.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At six-o'clock Remus arrived by Floo into Grimmauld Place, after receiving a message from Sirius earlier inviting him to dinner. He was a bit curious about the purpose of this dinner because Sirius had insisted that he canceled a small dinner-date he had scheduled last week in order to make it.

Remus entered the kitchen to find Harry and Sirius setting the table while Kreacher cooked. He peered anxiously over the elf's shoulder, uncertain of what he was going to find. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw a fresh salmon on the stove, along with an assortment of vegetables.

"Kreacher is hoping the wolf likes fish… rather than rare meat…" Kreacher muttered softly to himself.

"Kreacher… he has a name," Harry said back, before giving Remus a nervous smile. Kreacher stopped cooking, peering towards Remus and gave him the slightest of bows.

Remus nodded his head in return, accepting the house-elf's unspoken apology.

"As it so happens, I do love fish. Padfoot catch this?" Remus said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Shove off," Sirius said in return.

"What am I missing here?" Harry asked.

Remus gave a small chuckle before explaining, "Back in our Hogwarts years, Sirius would transform into Padfoot and wander into the Black Lake, insisting beforehand that he would catch us dinner. He must have tried ten different times, and each time he would have the same cocky smirk on his face before transforming into his canine form. And each time, about an hour later, he would wander out of the lake smelling like wet dog and would be moody for the rest of the night."

"Yeah, yeah, well, I managed to jump on top of you every time before I transformed back… Then James told everyone in Gryffindor Tower to ignore that wet-dog stench, and you had tried out this new cologne."

"Well, with my 'furry-little-problem', I wasn't going to have a girlfriend anytime soon anyways," Remus smiled back. "Ah, I haven't told you about that yet either, Harry… your dad actually gave my disease that nickname… you see, I'm a…"

"Werewolf," Harry responded knowingly.

Remus stared at Harry for a moment, before turning angrily towards Sirius. "You told him?! You know that's not your secret to tell!"

"I didn't tell him, Remus… but while we are on the topic of secrets… you may want to sit down…"

"There's no other way he would know… I know Dumbledore wouldn't have told him… I'm fine standing," Remus responded harshly.

"There is another way…" Harry said quietly, "You really should sit down though, this may take a while…"

Remus seemed to calm down as Harry spoke, and gently pulled out a chair. Sirius and Harry sat opposite of him.

"I know that this is going to sound crazy… but just hang in there… I'm not who you think I am, I'm not just a seven-year-old kid… well, my body is, but my mind isn't… Fifteen years from now, in another timeline, I defeat Voldemort, but everyone I have ever cared about was dead… A few weeks after I defeated him, I found a way to send my soul back in time…"

Remus simply stared at Harry, before turning his dumbfounded expression towards Sirius, "This isn't funny."

"It's not a joke," Sirius replied back.

"Yes, it is, we both know that's not possible," Remus shot back.

"I didn't think so either," Sirius muttered.

"You 'may not think so', but I know… After James and Lily were killed, I looked into it… I spent months poring over texts, but it's not possible to go back more than a few hours."

"Professor McGonagall has a brother who works in the Department of Mysteries, it was experimental, but he figured it out." Harry replied, careful not to disclose too much information on how he came back.

"And you're buying this?" Remus replied in disbelief, turning towards Sirius.

"He knows things that he shouldn't… and he has an entire story to back it up. I didn't believe him at first either."

"Give me an example of something you shouldn't know," Remus challenged.

"Well, as I said, you're a werewolf," Harry started, before being cut off quickly by Remus.

"And as I said, Sirius must have told you that,"

"I wasn't finished," Harry said back, with a bit of annoyance creeping into his voice, "You're a werewolf… because you were bitten by Fenrir Greyback at the age of five."

Remus looked at him for a long time, his mind racing. Eventually, after opening and closing his mouth a few times in hesitation, he said, "Only my parents knew that… I've never told anyone the name of my assailant."

"You told me during my sixth year. It was nearing Christmas… Greyback, and pretty much every Death Eater, had broken out of Azkaban earlier that year."

"You can't just break out of Azkaban…" Remus replied, dumbfounded.

"I promise you that you can… I led you to Pettigrew in the Gryffindor common room, I knew it was him when I pointed him out to you. That's actually the entire reason why I came back as far as I did. In my timeline, Sirius didn't leave Azkaban for six more years… and he had to escape, rather than being freed. Dementors can't sense Animagi, so he was able to escape as Padfoot. Greyback escaped after Voldemort rose to power. The Dementors had left Azkaban and were under Voldemort's control, so Azkaban was pretty much a joke by the end of the war."

Remus put his hands on his head, closed his eyes, and took a deep breathe. After a moment, he leaned forward in his chair and folded his hands on the table in front of him, he said, "Tell me everything."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

For the next two hours, Remus was nearly silent. He focused on absorbing all of the information Harry and Sirius were giving him, and refrained from asking too many questions. Harry repeated everything that he had told Sirius the night before, with Sirius jumping in and telling some of the parts he remembered clearly. Kreacher had brought them some appetizers, as they had disregarded dinner. Harry and Sirius snacked as the other one of them told the story; Remus didn't take a single bite.

Finally, they finished the story of the other timeline. They had fully explained the events that occurred in the previous timeline, along with the relationships Harry had made along the way. Harry had refrained from telling Remus that he had married Tonks, as he thought that it wasn't fair for him to manipulate that relationship through his words. Sure, he would gently push them towards each other, but it didn't feel right to force them together.

"So, you defeat Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time, and decide to come back and do it again because you think you can do it better?" Remus said, with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yes," Harry replied simply.

"You understand the risks of what you're doing, right? Meddling with time is a dangerous game, even Time-Turners, which only are capable of traveling a few hours, are very heavily regulated."

"I know, but when Mr. McGonagall said that he knew of a way to travel back… I could hardly live with myself knowing that you all died simply because I was unable to defeat Voldemort sooner, and when McGonagall gave me that option… How could I possibly live with myself knowing that I didn't do everything in my power to save you all?"

Remus sat still for a moment, before saying, "What have you changed so far?"

"As I said before, I proved Sirius' innocence, which never occurred in the other timeline. I also lived with the Dursley's every summer until my seventh year in the other timeline, which is obviously not happening in this timeline. Other than that, I've been careful not to change too much else. Pettigrew is in Azkaban, but we can tell him how to escape eventually to keep the timelines similar… He just lived as a rat for all these years between now and my third year, when he was figured out and fled to find Voldemort. So, he really didn't have any impact on the timeline between now and then, and he won't have much of an impact simply being locked away in Azkaban until then."

Remus nodded, "I wouldn't be so sure that Pettigrew's situation would be equivalent, but there is a decent chance that it will be. And you've obviously lost the protection of your aunt's house, since you cannot call it 'home' anymore, but Grimmauld Place is as secure a location as any… maybe even more secure than Gringotts after the story you just told me… it really shouldn't make too much of a difference. We should talk to Dumbledore about it though,"

"No, we shouldn't," Harry began, his temper rising, "Over the past few weeks I've given it a lot of thought, but I don't trust his reaction. In the other timeline, he admitted to me that he had been a large proponent of 'the greater good' in his past. He may easily see any outcome in which Voldemort is defeated as optimal, as it will save the surviving wizarding world. I disagree, and think that if given the choice, we should fight to save those we love."

"So you're scared of his reaction?" Remus asked.

"At first I was concerned he would Obliviate me, in the hopes that the timeline would repeat itself and Voldemort would be defeated in the same manner. But today, I heard a prophecy that wasn't in my timeline."

"What did it say?"

Harry repeated the prophecy to Remus, who sat in deep concentration for a few moments after hearing it.

"I think it's fair to assume that the prophecy is regarding you," Remus started, "And I'll admit that my first impression is that "the Head of the Phoenix" is talking about Dumbledore, but that isn't a positive."

"Give me one other person it could be talking about," Harry challenged. His mind wandered to the blind faith Remus gave Dumbledore in his sixth year regarding Snape. Sure, he turned out to be right, but his loyalty allowed him to trust Dumbledore blindly, even when the cards were stacked against him.

"He wouldn't do that, not after considering the ramifications of what you tell him. We have the advantage over Voldemort, he'll see that as a positive," Remus argued, avoiding the question.

"At first I wasn't telling him simply because I was scared he would Obliviate me, I'm definitely not telling him when it's been prophesied that he will be the one to kill me."

"I wanted to tell Dumbledore at first also, but as you told me earlier… it's not my secret to tell…" Sirius chimed in.

"No, this is much larger than Harry knowing I am a werewolf. Don't twist my words to try to compare the two," Remus said, his voice rising.

"Remus, we can't tell. The consequences could be catastrophic. We could lose Harry,"

"How do you not get this?" Remus shot back, standing up. "Of all the people in the world, you should be the first one to know what happens when you keep a secret from Dumbledore."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked, his voice rising too, but laced with confusion as he stood up also.

Remus' face turned a deep shade of red, and he shouted, "THE LAST TIME YOU DECIDED TO KEEP A SECRET FROM DUMBLEDORE IT LED TO YOU BEING WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED FOR SIX YEARS! AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TWELVE, IF HARRY DIDN'T COME BACK TO SAVE YOUR ASS! FOR SOME REASON, YOU DECIDED NOT TO TELL HIM THAT YOU MADE WORMTAIL SECRET-KEEPER! HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WE COULD FUCKING TRUST BACK THEN, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL HIM!"

Sirius sat back down, in defeat. He put his head in his hands, and he muttered with a hint of plea in his voice, "I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"

Remus remained standing, "No, you won't. I trust Dumbledore, and I trust that he will handle this appropriately."

Sirius sat there for a long moment, before he sighed and nodded, "I think you're right, Remus."

"WHAT?!" Harry shouted, his seven-year-old body standing at full height.

"He's right, Harry," Sirius said, "We need to tell Dumbledore. He's the brightest wizard alive, and the most powerful. He'll make the best decision possible,"

Remus nodded, glad to have his friend's support. "He's not this evil man you're making him out to be, Harry. We should go see him now, we can use the Floo."

Harry looked between them incredulously, before his eyes rested on Sirius, "How the fuck could you do this to me? You're risking my life here, and you're playing with the lives of everyone I love. And the biggest joke of all is that you were just appointed my fucking guardian. GUARDIAN, do you even know what that means, you self-centered piece of shit?! You're supposed to protect me, above all else."

Sirius looked at him with hurt in his eyes, "I am protecting you, Harry… maybe you'll see that someday."

"We are doing this because we care, Harry. I truly think this is the right move to make, and I think it will go a long way into saving my own life, along with everyone else you love," Remus said, with sincerity apparent in his voice.

"I'm not going easily," Harry said, beginning to move towards the front door.

Sirius drew his wand and pointed it lazily towards Harry, "You're coming."

Harry shook his head in disbelief, Sirius was actually threatened him. The lights began to flicker, and Harry's voice grew deep. He said in a threatening tone that contradicted his seven-year-old body, "I dare you."

_"__Petrificus Totalus!"_ Sirius shouted, slashing his wand through the air.

Harry froze, and fell to the ground. His senses were still completely aware, as he heard Sirius say to Remus, "Want to pick him up and carry him into the fire?"

Remus picked the paralyzed Harry off the ground, and began walking towards the fire. Sirius followed just a few steps behind him. Harry frantically tried to throw off the curse, but it was hopeless. He was being walked towards what would likely be his death, and would doom his friends.

"I'm sorry…" Sirius muttered.

Harry tried with all his might to say, 'That doesn't matter, you bastard', but couldn't overcome the paralysis.

Just before Remus stepped into the fire, Harry heard a whisper from behind him,_ "Obliviate."_

Please review and let me know what you think! I'm really trying to stay within the canon's characterization, and I hope that you don't necessarily think Lupin is being the 'bad-guy'... he is just making the decision he thinks best. Let me know what you think of my characters, and if they are acting within JKR's universe!

Thanks for reading!


	14. Tri-Captains

Harry felt his paralysis cease as Sirius carried the unconscious Remus into the fire and whirled away. Guilt filled him, and he wished that he could take back everything he just said. In the heat of the moment, he had questioned Sirius' ability to be his guardian, and he knew that Sirius would think about the words he said for much too long.

When Sirius returned a few minutes later, with a small smirk on his face, he said, "I told you that you would understand 'someday'. Maybe I should have been a little more descriptive though, and said 'within the next minute and an half'."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, ignoring Sirius's attempt at humor, "I shouldn't have said those things. I know you're going to be a great guardian."

"Don't be sorry… after everything that you've told me and hearing that prophecy… There's no way to rationalize telling Dumbledore the truth. You said those things because you were under the impression that I was giving you, and your friends, a death sentence. I would have reacted the same way."

"I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you… but that was one hell of a performance,"

Sirius took a small bow, "I didn't want Moony to pull out his wand… That's the reason I played along and froze you… so he wouldn't feel the need to pull out his wand in order to force you to come with us… I just can't believe that it came to that, though."

"I can… he has a lot of faith in Dumbledore. In the other timeline, I believed Snape was working against the Order. No matter what I said, Lupin's trust in Snape never ceased, and his only reasoning was that Dumbledore trusted him. He turned out to be right, but that doesn't change the fact that he will follow Dumbledore into hell if that's what's asked of him."

"But he's supposed to be my best friend… I was sure he would side with us," Sirius replied, sounding a bit hurt.

"He made the choice that he thought was best. As he said, withholding information from Dumbledore in the past led to your imprisonment. We both know Lupin; he's not a bad guy… He's just trying to do the right thing," Harry rationalized. He had calmed down a lot over the past few minutes when trying to see it from Remus' point of view.

"Well, anyway, he will wake up in the next hour next to a bottle of gin and have no recollection of the past few hours. He used to drink pretty heavily in trying to cope with his life as a werewolf… I don't think that he'll think that any foul play was involved."

"I still haven't thanked you for doing that…"

"Don't mention it… it was his memories or potentially hundreds of lives, including yours. There was no other way; we are playing a dangerous game."

"Still, thanks for understanding…"

"That's my job as your guardian," Sirius replied, "Well, one of my jobs at least… I know you're already thinking of Horcruxes, and Voldemort, and pretty much everything that can go wrong… but it's also my job to make sure you think less and enjoy your childhood. Somewhere inside of you is that seven-year-old soul, and I'm going to make sure he has a blast."

"It's important to start thinking about that stuff," Harry said.

"I know, but as you said the other day, we aren't going after the Horcruxes for a couple years… So you have some time to truly live before we can do anything significant to try to avoid the war."

"I can still be better than I was last time… I have all these years to improve myself… I don't have a wand, but I can still practice dueling a bit… plus I can just continue to learn spells, even if I can't perform them."

"True, but still, you deserve some time to relax. And I know that your seven-year-old eyes have yet to see a proper game of Quidditch."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Hey Ron,_

_I scored some tickets to the Cannon's game next week, and was wondering if you wanted to go? The game is this upcoming Saturday and, as I'm sure you already know, they are playing Puddlemere United. Sirius has been shoving Quidditch books at me, so I think I'm getting a much better grasp on the game. Plus I learned that Puddlemere actually won the Championship last year… so it will be nice to see the Canon's stomp on the reigning champs._

_I actually have two extra tickets, so I was going to invite Ginny as well. I don't know how much she enjoys Quidditch, but it wouldn't be fair to pick between Fred or George. I'll write her a quick letter right now and send it along with this one._

_Let me know if you can make it!_

_Harry_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Hi Just Ginny,_

_I know we didn't get a chance to hang out much the other day, but hopefully this will make up for that… I scored some tickets to the Cannons vs Puddlemere United game, and was wondering if you wanted to come. I invited Ron as well, but am really hoping that you can make it too!_

_Ron taught me a bit about Quidditch while I was at your house, but it will be a lot different to actually see the game being played. Hopefully you'll be able to help me sort out what's going on while their playing, as I expect Ron will be busy cheering his head off. Let me know if you're able to come!_

_Yours truly,_

_Just Harry_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry read over both letters a second time, and read Ginny's a third… and fourth… and fifth time. He was aiming to have the letters be casual, yet still inviting. After he was satisfied with both letters, he found the beautiful, pure-white owl that Sirius bought shortly after being free, Prongs, and sent him off to the Burrow. He could hardly wait for his reunion with Hedwig in a few years.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

An owl carrying two letters had arrived just a day later. Ron had rambled on for a bit in his response, and almost forgot to actually say 'yes' in the midst of his excitement. He had broken down the match by each position, and explained to Harry that the Cannons actually had the advantage in every single position. He also invited Harry and Sirius to stop by before the match started for some lunch, at Mrs. Weasley's request.

Ginny's response was very simple, just a simple 'yes!' scribbled onto a piece of parchment. While Harry thought she was perhaps at a loss for words, he still had a lingering doubt that there was more to it than that.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry and Sirius arrived at the Burrow at noon on Saturday. The match was scheduled to begin at four o'clock, and Sirius had arranged a Portkey to depart at three o'clock so that they could see the pregame ceremonies.

Stepping into the living room, Harry was met by Ron, who was covered head to toe in bright orange. It clashed horribly with his hair, but he was too excited to care. Sirius gave Ron's hair a little rustle as he walked by him and into the kitchen to greet Mrs. Weasley.

"Blimey, Harry, where is your orange?!" Ron exclaimed, moving his hands down his body as if he needed to point out his bright-orange t-shirt and colored jeans.

"I figured the rest of the rainbow needed a bit of love. Plus, I think you sold out all the stores," Harry replied with a cheeky grin. He was simply wearing a white shirt with the Cannons' logo on the front, coupled with a blue jeans.

Ron blushed and muttered something about hand-me-downs. Harry remembered how Ron was extremely sensitive when it came to money, and quickly tried to correct his mistake.

"Wait… those are hand-me-downs? They fit perfectly, and look brand new! You should have seen what the Dursleys dressed me in… Dudley was a whale, and my aunt didn't even try to alter the hand-me-downs I inherited from him. I was stuck wearing worn-out shirts three times my size. I would never buy clothes if I had older brothers and magic could be used to restore them and change their size!" Harry replied, with a false sense of awe on his face.

Ron smiled, before his face turned serious, "I'm sorry about your relatives… Mum won't tell us what happened, but I know they weren't good people… I'm sure my brothers have some hand-me-downs that they can give to you, if you want them."

"They weren't good people, but there are worse in the world… Sirius will take care of me. And I'll let you keep their clothes for now, but no guarantees that I won't steal a shirt or two when we are at Hogwarts," Harry replied with a smile, appreciating Ron's gesture.

"Ah, little Harry and Ickle Ronniekins sharing clothes," Fred said, entering the room with a mischievous grin.

"Are boys allowed in this room? Or are you having a secret girl's meeting?" George replied.

"Shall we summon Ginny to this meeting?"

"I'm sure she would like that, dear brother of mine."

"Well, if Ron left anyways."

"So she could fawn over Harry."

"Stop that, she's my friend" Harry replied, with a blush on his face. Harry had a sneaking suspicion that these two were exactly the reason why Ginny's response was so short.

"Is that redness I see, Fred?" George said.

"His face is redder than a Weasley's hair," Fred replied.

"Oy, lay off," Ron said, seeing Harry's embarrassment.

"Little does young Ginny know that she has competition," Fred smirked.

"From her own brother none the less," George replied.

"Which one shall you choose, little Harry?"

Harry knew they were just trying to wind him up, and was glad they felt comfortable enough around him to do so, but he realized that Ginny had probably endured this ever since his last visit.

"Both of them," Harry smirked back, "And neither of you… Do you notice who's not coming to the match today?"

"Ah, little Harry throwing little daggers now," Fred replied.

"Careful with sharp objects, especially whom you throw them at," George continued.

Harry knew that their minds were probably already plotting a way to prank him for that comment, and in an effort to avoid their wrath, he added, "Really, though, I'm sorry we didn't get enough tickets... I'll bring you two next time."

"No need for apologies, young Harry," Fred started.

"Dad agreed to show us how to fly today," George said excitedly.

"And although we've stolen some brooms out of the shed before…"

"This time we can do it in the daylight…"

"Must be careful to act dumb at first…"

"Which will be extraordinarily difficult…"

"Given our extraordinary minds…"

"But we will learn quickly," They both replied with a mischievous smirk.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry took his seat for lunch when he heard Ginny coming down the stairs. She quietly slipped into a chair at the far end of the table, and only offered Harry a small smile when they made eye contact. She was dressed in a white blouse with short orange shorts, showing no obvious affiliation for either team playing in the match.

Lunch was delicious as always, and before long Sirius pulled out a Cannon's flag from his magically-enlarged pocket. After saying their farewells, Harry, Sirius, Ron, and Ginny grabbed hold of the flag. Harry closed his eyes as he felt the familiar sensation of a hook grabbing his navel as they were transported to the site of the match.

Harry opened his eyes to see a large Quidditch stadium before him. It was nowhere near the size of the Quidditch World Cup's venue, but much larger than Hogwarts' stadium. They stood just outside of a large congregation of fans rushing into the stadium, who were mainly dressed in white Puddlemere United gear, even though this was the Cannon's pitch.

They stepped out of the designated Portkey-arrival area, and into the large crowd. Even though it was still an hour before the match, it was pretty chaotic as people ran in every direction in order to meet up with friends or enter the stadium. Sirius looked back at the three small children accompanying him.

"Alright you lot, you better hold hands so we don't get split up,"

Harry noticed the small wink Sirius gave him, as he let out a small smile in appreciation. He glanced back at Ginny, and saw she was already starting to move behind Ron, so that Ron would be the one to hold Harry's hand (as he would be in the middle of the two). Harry ignored her attempt as he moved between Ron and Ginny. He grabbed Ron's hand without hesitation, and held out his other hand towards Ginny, inviting her to hold it. With a blush, she cupped his hand.

While Ron talked excitedly to Sirius about the match, Harry looked towards Ginny, who had refrained from talking to him the entire day. He gave her hand a small squeeze, and leaned towards her before asking, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she responded quietly, but the small tears forming at the sides of her eyes told him differently.

"No it's not… what's wrong?" Harry prodded, hoping she would open up.

"Nothing," Ginny replied defiantly.

"Ginny... you don't have to lie to me," Harry said, squeezing her hand once more.

"It's just stupid," she replied.

Harry was silent, but his gaze remained on her, waiting for her to continue. After a dozen silent steps, she finally said, "It's just Fred and George. They saw me run down the stairs when you were leaving the other day, and they have been teasing me ever since. Every time they see me coming downstairs, they tell me 'take your time, Harry isn't here'."

Harry watched a small tear escape from her eye and trickle down her cheek as she looked away from him. Harry moved her hand within his, until their fingers were laced. Ginny looked at Harry, but did not blush.

"Well… I'm here now... And I wanted to run up those stairs to say goodbye to you when I was leaving the other day, before you came down anyways," Harry said earnestly, while dreading that it would be years before he could comfort her more properly.

Ginny's brown eyes pierced his emerald ones, and it in that moment, time seemed to stop. After a long moment, she said, "Thanks… just Harry."

OOOOOOOO

Harry let go of Ron's hand as they had entered the stadium, but still clung to Ginny's as they walked a pace behind Ron and Sirius, who were still chatting away. They made their way to their seats, which were only a few rows off of the pitch. Harry watched Ron's awed expression as he laid his eyes on the players he had been talking about for years.

As they sat down, Harry offered Ginny a friendly smile and gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go. He didn't want Ron to see that he had been holding her hand all this time, and now that they were sitting next to each other, he thought it best to let go and avoid any awkwardness. Ginny looked a bit disappointed, but as Ron looked into the air and watched the players warm up; Harry shifted a few inches towards Ginny until their bare arms rested against each other.

The game went by relatively quickly, with the Cannons ultimately losing 290-20. Even though they were pummeled, Ron's attitude throughout the game was extremely positive as he cheered on his idols. As Sirius led them out of the stadium, Harry grabbed Ron's hand and laced Ginny's fingers with his own.

"I can't believe you let Ron talk you into being a Cannons fan," Ginny teased.

"They are good!" Ron insisted, "If the referee just opened his eyes, that game could have easily gone the other way!"

"Ron, they lost by two hundred and seventy points… they would have had to play with three extra chasers to even stand a chance."

"Did you see their goals though? How remarkable were they? Jefferies scored from forty yards out after coming out of a triple-sloth-barrel-row… that's pure talent."

"The Cannon's can only score when their players are dizzy… he probably didn't even know where he was aiming," Ginny laughed.

"Pure talent," Ron retorted.

"They need to recruit a Seeker. Jefferies is good, but the rest of the chasers couldn't keep up with United's pace. Plus, their beaters were outplayed… nearly every bulger was going towards Jefferies… you can only score so much when half of the time you're just trying to stay alive. They need to win these games quickly if they're going to have a shot."

'"I think Robert's had a bum shoulder from a few weeks ago," Ron said, trying to make an excuse for one of the beaters, "Nine times out of ten, Cannons will win that game."

Sirius smirked, "Well, hopefully the Ministry can continue to supply me with tickets. It looks like the Cannons need more supporters anyway, over half that stadium was rooting against them."

"Those who stay will be champions," Ron replied with pride in his voice, "A lot of people have turned against them since their last league, but those of us who still support them will be rewarded soon!"

"Ron… their last league title was in 1892…" Ginny said while grinning.

"And their next one is within the next three years, I guarantee it!" Ron replied immediately.

"I'm not sure about three, but definitely within five!" Harry added in an attempt to show his allegiance for Ron's sake.

"I'd be impressed if it's within the next twenty," Ginny smirked.

"Harry and I will be co-captains by then," Ron replied, his eyes shifting towards the sky.

Harry feigned a smile, as he realized that even in this timeline, he would never be given that opportunity. He was destined to fall by one of the most powerful wizards of all time, whether that is Voldemort or Dumbledore was still uncertain. Even if he defeated Voldemort, which was a big if… given the fact that he would need to be resurrected in order to be destroyed, the prophecy regarding Dumbledore would still be lingering over his head. The fact remained though, that he still needed his friends and he wasn't going to let his impending doom ruin the rest of his life. He was going to die, when was uncertain, but as long as he could keep his secret from Dumbledore, he would live at least until he decided to resurrect Voldemort.

"Tri-captains… we're going to recruit Ginny to the team as well," Harry replied, which resulted in a Ginny grinning and tightening her fingers around Harry's.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A big thanks to my betas Arnel and rs for making this chapter much more readable. I would really appreciate any review you have! I really shape the story with the reviews in mind, so please let me know what you're thinking!


	15. Don't Touch It

Harry awoke suddenly with his body covered in sweat. He stared at the ceiling and took several deep breaths. It had been a nine days since his last nightmare. A new record. Frustrated that his streak was over, he punched his pillow once before climbing out of bed.

Most nights he was able to sleep soundly due to a careful dosage of Dreamless Sleep Potion. It was addicting, but he was very careful to take only a small amount each night, good for six hours of dreamless sleep. Most nights, six hours was enough because if he slept any more than that, there was a very good chance he would have a nightmare. It wasn't unbearable by any means, but more of a nuisance. Although he had some of his loved ones back once more, his heart still ached by his memories of what happened in the previous timeline. It was up to him and Sirius to make enough changes so that the outcome would be much different this time around, and they were off to a good start.

Harry walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. It was nearly four o'clock in the morning, but the second he sat down Kreacher climbed out of his cupboard. Harry had tried to be quiet as to not wake the elf, but somehow the elf always heard him.

Kreacher gave a small bow towards Harry, saying, "They are still safe, Master Harry."

Harry nodded back at the elf, "Job well done, as always."

Their morning had begun with these words for the past three years. Kreacher had begun towards the stove to make breakfast, when Harry said, "It's been a long night… do you mind if I see them?"

Kreacher nodded, understanding Harry's desire to see the progress he and Sirius had made so far. Harry followed Kreacher towards his cupboard under the sink. Kreacher snapped his fingers, making the entrance to his cupboard, along with the inside, nearly ten times the original size. Harry entered the enlarged cupboard, and made his way to what appeared to be the back wall.

Kreacher's room was very simple, and when enlarged, looked very barren. There was a small bed in the corner of the room, and a few photographs hung scattered on the wall. Most of these photos had been taken over the past three years, and a few of them even included Ron and Ginny, whom Kreacher had taken a liking to after a long while. Harry and Sirius had tried over and over to get him to move into a spare bedroom, but the elf had always insisted on this cupboard. He said that his mother, and her father before that had lived in this cupboard their entire life, he would spend it no other way.

After about fifteen steps, Harry reached the back wall of the room. He stretched out his hand, and placed it upon the wall standing before him, appreciating how amazing magic truly is. Even though this wall was normally only two feet in height, and this room was only four feet in length, the room he stood in was nearly the size of his room, and this wall stood sturdy.

"Kreacher cannot take off enough spells to let you touch the objects, but Kreacher can let you see them," the elf said.

"That's all I need," Harry replied gratefully.

Kreacher muttered under his breath for several minutes, as the false wall that had once stood only a foot away from him, slowly became transparent and revealed the contents which lay on the other side.

Harry's eyes hardened as he looked at he objects tasked with concealing Voldemort's soul. His eyes first caught sight of the locket, which had been the first object hidden in this spot and had been there for the past three years.

His eyes then moved over to Helga Hufflepuff's cup, which had only been in this spot for two weeks. It had taken a lot of planning, but retrieving the cup had been relatively simple. The Black Vault stood only a few doors down from Bellatrix's, and all it had taken was a quick Imperious Curse on the goblin who had shown them to the vaults (and led them past the dragon) for the goblin to open up the Bellatrix's vault instead of Sirius'. After they grabbed the cup, they led the goblin back to the entrance to the Black Vault, removed the Imperius Curse, and performed a small memory charm making him forget the previous fifteen minutes. The goblin led them into the Black Vault without ever even looking at them suspiciously. It was remarkable how such a simple plan was able to get around all of the protections surrounding Gringotts.

Finally, his eyes hovered over Ravenclaw's diadem, the newest addition to their collection. Sirius had written Dumbledore a letter simply informing him that Harry was nervous about the upcoming term, and Sirius asked permission to take him around the castle to re-meet the teachers that he had met when he was seven. Dumbledore happily obliged, and had insisted on joining them for a nice dinner in Hogsmeade afterwards. Sirius and Harry had been able to simply stroll into the Room of Requirement without notice, and summoned Kreacher directly into the Room of Requirement by simply calling his name, as elf magic was immune to Hogwart's Apparition defenses. Kreacher transported the diadem back to his cupboard before Harry and Sirius left the room to continue the tour.

_The locket, the cup, the diadem, the diary, the ring… me_… Harry thought, listing off the Horcruxes that needed to be destroyed. They had three in their possession, the Diary would be handed to them in a little over a year, and they were on getting Marvolo Gaunt's ring tonight. Sirius had used his contacts in the Ministry to track down the abandoned shack years ago, and they had simply been waiting to take the ring, as they knew it was safe in its current location.

Harry nodded and thanked Kreacher, before walking back across the room and out of the cupboard, emerging in the kitchen. Kreacher emerged a few minutes later after he finished reapplying the concealments. With a snap of his fingers, the cupboard shrunk down to its original size.

"I think I'm going to try to go back to bed, Kreacher… We have a big night ahead of us…" Harry lied, knowing full well that he would not be able to fall back asleep.

Kreacher shrugged, "Even if Master Harry goes back to bed, Kreacher is making breakfast for Master Sirius. You very well know he has ordered Kreacher to wake him whenever you come downstairs."

"He gave that order ages ago! There's no need to wake him, I'm going back to bed right now."

"Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black," the elf said, with a rare smirk on his face. When that smirk faded, he continued, "Kreacher won't deny a direct order from his Master, I informed him that you came downstairs after I finished with putting the enchantments back up."

"Damn," Harry sighed, "Well, no point in going back to bed if Sirius is already up… he'll want to start training early so we're not tired out for tonight."

At that moment, Sirius came running down the stairs. Harry marveled at the amount of energy his godfather had after he got out of bed each morning. Sometimes it was a struggle to get him out of bed, but once he was up he was ready to attack the day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

He was dressed in sweats and an old t-shirt. He shook his head looking at Harry, "Still in pajamas? Well, that'll work… maybe I'll actually be able to hit you with a spell today."

"Fat chance, your age seems to be catching up to you. I think I'd have a tougher time dodging a turtle racing towards me."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry stared down Sirius, who was standing at the opposite side of the room dripping with sweat. Harry was getting tired too, but his young body was in very good shape after following this routine for the past few years. Plus, he wasn't the one exerting magical force, which tended to wear a person out a bit quicker. While Harry wished he could go on the offensive, the fact remained that he was wandless. That would change within the next two weeks, but for now, he must focus on training his defenses. And the best defense was the ability to dodge, as there was no way to stop a Killing Curse anyways.

His thoughts were interrupted when a bolt of red light flew towards him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly fell to the ground as the spell passed harmlessly above him. One thing that he had retained from Moody in the previous timeline was constant vigilance, a saying that came into use often during his training. Sirius would often try to catch him off guard with a nonverbal when he appeared to be resting.

"So close," Harry teased.

"I wouldn't get too cocky yet," Sirius warned.

"Do your worst,"

"Stupefy!" Sirius yelled, pointing his wand towards Harry.

Harry casually dodged to his left, simply side-stepping the incoming spell. He was nearly caught by a second Stunning Spell that he had not noticed, as Sirius sent one non-verbally directly after his verbal spell. But, he had fortunately dodged the first one to the left, as Sirius' non-verbal spell had been aimed anticipating he would move to the right.

A bit flustered, he watched Sirius send one last non-verbal spell towards him before turning on the spot. Harry quickly dodged the incoming spell, and turned around looking for Sirius' Apparition destination.

Suddenly, a loud crack filled the room, originating from the exact same spot Sirius had been standing before. Harry's eyes widened as he realized he was beat. Before he could turn around and react, he was flung into the air and suspended by his ankles. His shirt fell over his face, which hid his reddened face flushed with embarrassment from his taunts a few minutes before.

"And that, young Harry, is what you call the Omari Feint."

"Before you start your victory speech, can you let me down?" Harry asked. Sirius quickly lowered him to the ground.

"Never assume, Harry. You assumed the second you saw me Apparating, that I would be Apparating to the other side of you… which I'll give you was probable given that I have tried that countless times before, but, in this instance, incorrect. I simply thought of the spot a centimeter to the left of the place I was already standing."

"I'll give you that one. But that's the last time that trick works on me," Harry replied.

"You know that's my goal. I'm just trying to prepare you for the improbable situations you may face in duels. If that trick never works on you again, I'll consider that a job well done."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After training, both Harry and Sirius took a quick shower before coming down to eat breakfast. Kreacher had taken the time he had while his masters were training to make a small feast large enough for at least six people. Harry and Sirius both took large servings, and sat down at the table.

"Kreacher, grab yourself a plate as well, you definitely earned it," Sirius said, finding a way to resist eating his food before Kreacher sat down at the table with a plate himself.

After nearly ten minutes of devouring everything in their paths, Sirius and Harry leaned back in their chairs, their hands resting on their stomachs. Kreacher was still working on his breakfast because he politely cut his food properly and ate slowly.

"So, assuming we don't slip into a food coma, are we still planning on doing this tonight?" Sirius asked.

"I see no reason not to… I leave for Hogwarts in a few days… we know where the Horcrux is, and we have the means of protecting it. I think it was smart leaving it there for these past few years, but it will be just as safe under our protection. I would rather have it here for when we figure out how we are going to destroy them."

"I agree, we should grab it while we can. Plus, I'm assuming your finger is feeling a bit lonely ever since you've came back," Sirius winked, pointing at Harry's ring finger.

It was true, those first few months he came back, he found himself subconsciously trying to play with his ring, a habit he had never noticed before. And beyond that, it was a lonely feeling realizing how much further he and Ginny's relationship must travel before that ring was back on his finger. It would be years, and that was assuming that she would still have him after she learned the truth, which again, would not be anytime soon.

Their relationship was nothing more than a friendship, though a very close friendship. He was just as close to her as he was to Ron, an accomplishment he was quite proud of. Whenever he went over to the Burrow, all three of them would hang out together. He remembered Ginny mentioning how lonely her childhood had been, as Ron never wanted to spend time with her in their previous childhood, but Harry had made sure to include her in every plan he made with Ron.

They would hang out once or twice a week, and typically would have a sleepover. Ginny was still at the young age where a sleepover with the boys was completely normal. Typically, they would all sleep in sleeping bags in the backyard of the Burrow, with a small fire roaring and their bellies filled with popcorn. That is, given that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley put up a few anti-bug charms first.

"I'll admit, that my finger is getting quite lonely… but I don't think having Voldemort's soul wrapped around it will make it any better,"

Sirius let out a chuckle, before Harry continued, "We need to take this one seriously though. I wasn't the one to retrieve this Horcrux in the last timeline, I don't know what surprises there might be. Dumbledore didn't mention anything, but then again, I never asked."

"We need to be careful while looking for it, we know it's under the floorboards, but we don't know which room."

"As long as we do all the sweeps we've been learning about over the past few years, we should be able to get through the enchantments. Then, it's simply just not touching the ring directly."

"Piece of cake," Sirius replied.

"This Horcrux pretty much killed Dumbledore in the previous timeline, or at least put a clock on his life. We need to be careful."

"I still can't believe that story… the Great Albus Dumbledore gave into the temptation of a ring. What could he have possibly thought to gain by putting that ring on? Sure, it had the Resurrection Stone, but he seriously couldn't have waited just a few hours to disenchant the damn thing?"

"He has always said that he makes mistakes, and that was probably one of his largest ones..."

"Even larger than not killing Tom Riddle when he was in school?"

"I asked him that once…or something along those lines… I asked him that if he knew Tom was going to grow up to be the Darkest wizard of all time, after he first met him at the orphanage."

"What did he say?" Sirius asked, intrigued.

"He said, 'no, but if I had…', without finishing his thought. I think that was because he doesn't even know what he would have done…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry looked down at his trembling hands curiously. This was the first time he had to truly venture into the unknown in order to secure a Horcrux, and his younger self's nerves were getting to him. He didn't feel overly anxious, but his body was unwillingly reacting to the severity of the situation.

"You'll be on call then Kreacher?" Sirius asked.

"You murmur Kreacher's name, and he will be there," Kreacher bowed.

Harry nodded at the house-elf, before turning towards Sirius, "Make sure you grab the list of counter-ward spells."

Sirius smacked his head with his palm, as he ran out of the kitchen and into the library to grab the notebook that Harry and he had been taking notes in over the past few years. Contained in that notebook were some of the most advanced anti-ward spells, along with some other spells that they imagined could be useful in future duels.

A few moments later, Sirius skidded back into the kitchen, the notebook secured under his arm. Harry glanced out the window, and noted the darkness had settled around them. They had decided to wait until it was dark out in order to ensure that no passing eyes would land upon them.

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked.

"Let's do it," Harry replied, his hands still shaking.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

With a small pop, Harry and Sirius landed just feet away from where they believed Gaunt's shack to be. They stood at the edge of the property, and looked at the heavily wooded area in front of them, knowing the shack would be magically concealed. Sirius pulled out his notebook, and began mumbling with his wand outstretched. They did not need to worry about any Muggles wandering by; it appeared the entire area was isolated. Even so, the first spell Sirius had cast was a Muggle-Repelling Charm, just in case. Harry listened as Sirius mumbled nearly a dozen spells, each of them seeking to reveal the magically concealed shack and give them warning of any spells awaiting them.

Finally, Sirius turned to Harry with a smirk. He raised his wand a final time, and revealed the abandoned shack. In the memory Dumbledore had shown him years ago, he remembered the shack to be run down, but it had deteriorated even more since its abandonment.

The lawn consisted of leaves and sticks resting upon yellowed grass that had been without water for a long time. Large trees hung over the property, each of them barren of leaves even though fall had yet to officially start.

The shack itself was beginning to fall apart, as a large branch had taken out part of the deteriorating roof. The shingles hung on by a thread, and windows were opaque with a mixture of dust and dirt. A murky smell filled the air, and it was apparent it had been a long time since this air filled a human's lungs.

"I tried everything I know, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of defensive mechanism in place. There isn't a single ward on this property, other than the concealment charm. It was an advanced concealment charm, that is decently ancient… but still, I expected more."

Harry had expected much more as well. Surely there would be more to it than this, but then again, Dumbledore had come here alone. Perhaps he had run the same tests and reached the same conclusion, and that was the reason he felt confident going in alone.

Harry began to outstretch his leg, when Sirius stuck his arm firmly across his chest, holding him back. With a scolding look, Sirius took the first step on the property, testing it for anything dangerous that his spells missed.

Anticlimactically, the only thing that happened after Sirius stepped was the crackling of sticks beneath his feet. With a small wink, Sirius turned confidently towards the shack and began walking to the front door, Harry following his path. As they reached the front door, Harry noticed a nail protruding from the wood and was reminded of the snake that hung there many years ago.

Sirius paused momentarily before slowly opening the door. Harry leaned to his right in order to see around Sirius' frame, but it was no use. The moonlight was unable to reach inside the rotting shack. They both stood still, listening intently for any signs of a trap lying inside. Harry still had the occasional nightmare of the Inferi that guarded the false locket.

After several seconds of listening to nothing more than crickets chirping, Sirius pulled out his wand once more.

"Lumos Maxima," Sirius whispered, igniting the tip of his wand in a bright light before tossing the ball of light into the darkened shack.

The ball of light landed in the center of the room, illuminating the entire room. The shack was simple, with the main room being a mix between a kitchen and a sitting room. The wallpaper was darkened and dirty, peeling away towards the corners. On the counter stood a cooking pot covered with a layer of dust, a murky liquid still within it.

Harry lowered his hand towards the liquid, remembering the potion that Dumbledore was forced to drink in order to retrieve the locket. However, his fingers met no barrier as they made small waves in the liquid that had been untouched for decades.

"Well, I know Dumbledore once said it was under the floorboards, but I don't know which floorboard… or even which room," Harry said, his quiet voice seemed abnormally loud in the silent shack.

"No matter, it seems as though Voldemort wasn't overly concerned anyone would ever find this place. I've done every spell in the book, and it seems as though this is just a normal shack. Well hidden, but unprotected once you find it."

"Minus the imminent death that awaits you if you touch the ring," Harry replied.

"True," Sirius said.

"Let's quickly go through each room, see if there is anything out of the ordinary that gives it away and verify that each room is curse-free."

The tour didn't take long, as there were only three small bedrooms in addition to the kitchen. Each one looked very much alike, with nothing out of the ordinary. Dust was covering each room, with spiders finding homes in the corner of the walls. But again, they found no resistance giving away which room was the one that hid the ring.

"I bet Dumbledore knew exactly where it was hidden…" Harry sighed, "He always said that 'all magic leaves traces', but he never taught me exactly what that meant."

"Traces eh? Well, I don't see any," Sirius replied.

"I didn't expect you to see any either, it's almost a different type of magic. But Dumbledore was extremely gifted in that sense. I just still can't comprehend why he put on that ring, he must have even seen the curse on it."

Sirius shrugged, not giving it much thought, before replying cheekily, "Low expectations in me?"

"That's not what I meant…" Harry replied.

Sirius let out a smirk, "I know, but anyways let's get down to business. There are a whole bunch of floorboards here, and this could take a while."

"Let's split up a bit, I would rather get out of here as quickly as possible. You start in the bedroom next door, I'll start in this one. Just pry open the floorboards, and call out when you see the ring." Harry said.

"And don't touch it," Sirius winked.

"And don't touch it." Harry replied with a nod.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fifteen minutes and a couple dozen floorboards later, Harry wiped the sweat forming on his forehead. He considered stopping for a short break, but when he heard the sound of Sirius still ripping away, he decided to continue. He was nearly done with half of the floorboards in the bedroom, and was excited to finish the job.

Harry picked the wedge back up, and pried open the next floorboard. As soon as the wood was wedged up, the room seemed to chill. Anxious, Harry slowly bent down to remove the floorboard.

As he moved the floorboard to the side, his eyes came to rest upon the cursed ring.

"Sirius, I think I…" Harry called out, before his vision blurred and the room seemed to melt away. He tried to yell, but he his voice made no sound. Harry closed his eyes and shook his head frantically, in an attempt to shake away the odd sensation that began to fill him. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out what exactly was happening when he heard a soft whisper that seemed to fill the entire room.

"Harry?" the voice said uncertainly. Harry froze at the sound, tears forming at the edges of his still closed eyes.

"Don't…" Harry whispered, his voice returning.

"Harry," the voice said comfortingly.

"You're not real," Harry replied, shaking his head once more.

"Open your eyes then, and if I'm not real I won't be there," the voice said, challenging him.

"No... You're not here… don't do this to me," Harry replied, almost pleading.

His eyes remained firmly shut, and his hands were shaking feverously. He took deep breaths, as the voice didn't reply for a few seconds. He considered opening his eyes, hoping this hallucination was over, when he felt a warm breath tickle his lips. His first instinct was to draw back, but something inside of him made him sit still, praying that this was real.

The breath lingered on his skin for a brief moment, before a familiar pair of lips gently brushed against his. A pair of hands grasped his, and their fingers intertwined as the kiss deepened. He could taste the subtle hint of strawberry, the very same lip gloss that she always used to wear.

Still shaking, Harry pulled his lips back and rested his forehead against hers. Opening his eyes for the first time, he stared into Ginny's deep brown ones. He pulled back further, and looked at his former wife. Before him sat the Ginny who haunted his dreams, the one he lost in the other timeline.

Ginny softly wiped away his tears with her hands, "What's wrong, my love?"

"I miss you," Harry replied, his voice cracking.

Ginny looked at him confused, "But I'm right here,"

Harry looked back into her eyes, and she smiled as she saw a slight glaze form over his.

"But… you weren't… here…" Harry said, looking around the room. His jaw dropped as he looked around the bedroom he recognized from the previous timeline in Grimmauld Place. This was the very same bedroom he and Ginny had slept in for months as they hid from Voldemort.

"Why… why am I here… I wasn't here…" Harry replied frantically.

Ginny looked at him with an expression of concern, as she moved her palm to his cheek, "You've been here all night… I've been here as well."

"But… I wasn't here…" Harry replied.

"Then where were you?" Ginny asked, a mischievous smile upon her lips.

"I was… I was… I'm not sure…" Harry stammered, racking his brain for the answer.

"Well, I'm sure that your arms have been around me all night," Ginny replied, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"You're sure?" Harry replied.

"I'm sure, you must have been having a nightmare or something… We can forget dreams that seem so real in just seconds… that must be why you're so confused." Ginny said confidently.

Harry raked his hands through his hair, before Ginny grabbed them in her own once more. They sat in silence, as she stroked his fingers.

After what seemed like a long while, Ginny spoke up. "Why aren't you wearing your wedding ring?" she asked, in a hurt voice.

"What?" Harry replied, looking down at his naked finger.

"Why did you take it off?" Ginny asked.

"I didn't…" Harry replied.

"Then why's it just sitting on the floor?" Ginny said, pointing towards the ring lying on the floor just a few feet away from them.

Harry scratched his head, unsure of how it got over there. He moved towards the ring and slowly bent down, as his eyes lingered on the familiar ring. It was a gold band laced with emerald streaks, and Harry remembered the moment Ginny had put it on his finger just a few months ago.

He reached out with trembling fingers, as his subconscious desperately tried to make him freeze, but his hand continued forward.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I want to apologize for the long delay between chapters... I wanted to make sure that I was happy with the time-skip before I posted it... Also, I started my corporate job back in July (just graduated in May) so I've been introduced to the real world.. and it's been kicking my butt. I'm truly going to try to crank out some chapters quicker now though, I've written past the part I was most concerned about so I think the story should flow from my mind to paper more fluidly now.

This story is very very far from over, the plot is still just beginning to form. I hope you stick with me as I continue to write, because I really think that I have a nice story to tell. Please review with any thoughts you have! I really appreciate it!

Thank you for sticking with me


	16. The Darkened Soul

The bedroom Sirius stood in was nearly complete, with only a few floorboards remaining. Sweat dripped from his brow, he wedged the iron under the next floorboard. Hearing a soft murmur from the other room, he hesitated.

"You talking to me, Harry? Or just trying to motivate your little self to work harder?" Sirius said, in a tantalizing tone before prying open the next floorboard with a chuckle. He enjoyed teasing Harry about how small he still was, even for his age.

Sirius listened, waiting for a retort to his comment, but all he heard was a soft mumbling coming from the other side of the wall. He set down his wedge, and walked bristly to the room Harry was working on. He relaxed when he saw Harry sitting on the ground, his back towards the door.

"Everything alright, lad? Sirius called out.

Harry replied, his back still towards Sirius, "What?"

"You alright?" Sirius replied.

"I didn't…" Harry said.

"Didn't what?" Sirius said, confused. He walked towards Harry, as Harry bent forward and reached out his arm. Sirius caught the briefest glimpse of the ring from over Harry's shoulder, and screamed as Harry's hand moved closer to it.

"HARRY, NO!" Sirius shouted, diving towards the young boy.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The light from Sirius' Lumos Maxima spell was extinguished, and Harry let out a piercing scream that filled the Gaunt Shack. The tip of Harry's finger had just grazed the ring before Sirius tackled him aside. He was in pain, not from Sirius' tackle, but from the curse settling in.

Sirius swore as he realized that he had not reached Harry in time, and began to panic. In an attempt to at least get light back into the room, he quickly pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos Maxima".

But the darkness continued as his spell failed. He attempted it one more time, but again had no success. Sirius swore once more as he realized that there must have been a hidden ward that was triggered once the ring was touched, making magic useless and even Apparition impossible.

Harry seemed to come to this realization as well, and momentarily stopped screaming as he made eye contact with Sirius. Still writhing, Harry muttered, "Snape…"

"KREACHER!" Sirius screamed, forming a plan on the spot.

Within a second, there was a small pop as Kreacher looked around the Shack frantically, realizing that something must have gone wrong. He snapped his fingers, and a ball of light appeared in the middle of the bedroom, illuminating the walls. His eyes found Harry, who was fighting valiantly to control his screams as he writhed on the ground, a ring laying a few feet away from him.

"Kreacher… you must listen to me and act quickly. You must take us to a man named Severus Snape, he is likely still in his laboratory at Hogwarts. I don't know exactly how elf magic works, but if you can just get us into the dungeons of Hogwarts, I can take us to Snape's classroom. Can you get us to there?" Sirius asked desperately.

Kreacher nodded and scrambled towards Harry, grasping his arm. Sirius quickly ripped off a part of his shirt, and grasped the cursed ring with the cloth. He pocketed the ring and grasped Kreacher's other hand, before feeling a sharp tug as they disappeared towards Hogwarts.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Half a second later, they landed with a sharp thud on the cold floor of the dungeons of Hogwarts. Sirius grabbed Harry and lifted him into his arms, and began sprinting down the corridor, Kreacher in fast pursuit.

"Don't you dare die on me, Harry," Sirius panted, still sprinting as Harry struggled in his arms, his eyes tightly closed.

With one last turn, Sirius sprinted towards the potions classroom. Screeching to a stop, he grasped the doorknob and nearly unhinged the door as he threw it open.

"SNAPE!" he shouted, scanning the room for his needed enemy. After a brief moment, Snape emerged from the supply room in the back of the classroom cautiously, his wand raised.

"Get out," Snape replied viciously, ready for battle.

"It's Harry… Help!" Sirius screamed, his voice cracking as tears escaped his eyes.

Snape quickly lowered his wand and noted the small boy that was in Sirius' arms. Sirius laid Harry carefully onto a desk, as Snape ran closer and began to examine the boy.

"What happened?" Snape shot towards Sirius with harshness in his voice, still examining Harry, who had grown uncomfortably still.

"It's a curse…" Sirius stammered, quickly pulling bundled up cloth out of his pocket and laying the ring on another desk. Snape pointed his wand towards the ring, and began muttering under his breath. Sirius watched Snape's face harden as he realized the severity of the curse.

Snape moved back towards Harry and tore the neckline of his shirt, revealing his chest. He pointed his wand directly at Harry's heart, the wooden tip of his wand making contact with flesh. He closed his eyes and began muttering ferociously, trying to save precious seconds.

After a few moments of muttering, Snape paused, his eyes growing wide. Sirius had no time to react, as Snape moved his wand from Harry's chest and pointed it at Sirius before shouting, "Stupefy".

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"If you want to live, swallow," a voice ordered.

Harry had just begun to regain consciousness when a liquid was poured down his throat. His entire body aching, his eyes remained closed. He swallowed without much of a second thought.

He lay there for a moment waiting for the pain to subside, but it did not. All he had for comfort was a cold voice that spoke in a volume just above a whisper.

"What is your name?" the voice asked.

"Harry James Potter," Harry replied. Harry's eyes shot open, those words had flown out of his mouth without him even thinking. Just feet away from him stood Snape, his wand pointing directly at Harry's chest. Laying on the floor behind Snape was Sirius, still unconscious from Snape's spell.

"How old are you?" the Snape whispered. Harry had never known Snape to be this discomposed. This man had lied directly to Voldemort's face for quite some time, but now, facing a ten-year-old boy, his voice seemed to tremble.

"Ten," Harry replied, again without thought. Panicking, he began to realize what he just swallowed.

"How old are you… mentally?" Snape asked, his eyes wide.

Harry shook his head vigorously, trying to hold back his response, but the Veritaserum was in full effect.

"Twenty-five," Harry whispered back, tears at the edge of his eyes.

Snape's eyes hardened, "Why are you here?"

"To save your life."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Snape had spent the better part of the night researching a new form of dreamless sleep potion. He had been trying to make it addiction-less over the past several months, and was nearing a finished product to present to Ministry for approval. After a long night of work, he rounded up the various leftover ingredients and had just begun putting them away in the supply cupboard when he heard the door to the classroom burst open.

"SNAPE!" a familiar voice shouted.

Snape froze, his mind racing. How did Sirius Black get into the castle without Dumbledore's knowledge, and what was he doing here at such a late hour? _'He knows,'_ Snape thought. _'He found out that I was the one who overheard the prophecy… he knows I'm the reason Lily… and James… are dead'_

Snape sighed, tempted to walk out of the supply cupboard unarmed. But the truth was, he was not ready to die yet. Dumbledore insisted that the Dark Lord would one day be raised once more, and he still had a role to play. Taking a breath, Snape wrapped his fingers around his wand and removed it from its holster.

"Get out," Snape replied, stepping out of the supply cupboard, his wand raised at Sirius.

"It's Harry… help!" Sirius pleaded.

Snape's wand was lowered before Sirius had even opened his mouth. The second his eyes rested on the small boy in Sirius' arms, he recognized him immediately. He dashed over Harry, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Snape glanced at the ring Sirius had thrown on a table, and could sense the Dark magic within it. Pointing his wand at the ring, he quickly verified his suspicions. It was an ancient curse, but one he was quite familiar with through his studies. It had been called many names throughout history, but the most common one was The Darkened Soul.

He turned back to Harry, a grim but determined expression on his face. There was no cure to this curse, as it attacked the soul rather than the body, but he could at least limit the damage and buy him as much time as possible.

Snape laid his wand on Harry's heart, trying to detect exactly how much of Harry's soul had been infected. _That's not possible… _Snape thought, his eyes growing wide. _There isn't just one soul in his body… there are two._

His mind racing for an answer, he knew that each moment he did not act, the shorter Harry's life would be. He did not trust the situation playing out before him, and decided to take control.

_"__Stupify,"_ he shouted, pointing his wand at Sirius.

He didn't even watch Sirius fall to the floor before turning back towards Harry.

"You're going to have a lot of explaining to do," he whispered, before laying his wand back on Harry's heart.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"How…" Snape asked, his mind spinning.

"You don't want to know," Harry replied.

Snape sighed, knowing that Harry was giving a truthful answer; he decided not to press on the 'how' for the time being.

"How much time do I have?" Harry asked grimly, before Snape could ask more.

"You knew the ring carried The Darkened Soul?" Snape asked, confused as to how Harry knew that his life had an expiration date.

"Dumbledore touched it last time…" Harry began, "In my other timeline that is… he told me that you were able to buy him some time by containing it..."

"Then why did you touch it?" Snape shot back, his trying to wrap his head around the fact that this young boy had knowledge of another timeline.

"I was tricked… just like Dumbledore was last time… You gave him a year to live…"

"I would say you have four," Snape replied, a weird sense of accomplishment filling him.

"Four…" Harry replied, letting out a long breath. He had expected much less… he could do a lot in four years.

"The curse infects in an exponential pattern…" Snape began, "If untreated, it will kill the infected in about an hour. It infects the soul upon the touch, and begins spreading very slowly at first. But, as that hour goes on, the curse spreads faster and faster, until your entire soul is infected. And of course, once that happens, you die."

"But how did you do it?" Harry asked, trying to understand.

"You aren't in a position to be asking questions," Snape retorted.

"You can do all the Legitimacy you want later and I won't fight, but I want answers," Harry replied

Snape thought for a moment, and glanced at Sirius, still unconscious on the floor. Feeling confident that the situation was under control, he began, "At a high level, I created blockades throughout your soul that the curse must travel through, slowing it down significantly. I'm assuming you got to me quicker than Dumbledore did last time, so I was able to put up more of these blockades. By getting to me just a few minutes sooner, I was able to pretty much halt the curse for now. It's still moving, but it's moving at an extremely slow pace right now. Dumbledore probably got to me when the curse was beginning to speed up, so I wasn't able to slow it down to the level it's at right now."

Harry's eyes found Kreacher, who was standing uncertainly by the door. Harry offered him a small nod in appreciation.

"But how did you know… how did you know the truth?" Harry asked, trying to wrap his mind around the situation.

"I knew the curse affected the soul, and I had to examine the extent of the damage done before creating the blockades. But… you didn't have just one soul… there were two, one much larger than the other. Souls grow based on memories, so the more you experience the larger your soul grows. One of them looked like a typical ten year old, but it was obvious that one was much more experienced… The larger soul is the one that the curse flows through." Snape replied.

Harry made a mental note to ask if there were actually three later, confused as to why Snape would not have seen Voldemort's soul within him. But, he was unsure of quite how much he wanted to reveal at this point, so decided to move on.

"Does it matter which soul was infected?" Harry asked.

"The end result is the same," Snape replied, "The body cannot live with such a prominent deceased soul within it. But, the journey to the end will be different."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

"The soul is made up of memories, and when you begin reaching the end and the curse speeds up, you will find that many of your memories begin to fade as the curse destroys them."

Harry rolled his fingers through his hair, as if trying to hold the memories in his head.

"But that won't happen for a while?" Harry replied nervously.

"You won't notice it for a while. Right now, the curse is nearly stopped and it will simply be feeding off of your outer memories, the ones that you would never care to recall. You probably won't notice it until just a few months before the end."

Harry let out a slow breathe… so he realistically had three and a half years to defeat Voldemort. Definitely doable, but he was getting very tired of these death sentences. First, it was Voldemort, then it was the prophecy regarding Dumbledore, and now this… But he would keep fighting… the only end results that mattered were in the lives that continued on after he perished. He would make this world a better one for Ginny, and the rest of his friends, to live in.

"Now Mr. Potter, I believe you owe me some explanations," Snape said, his voice cold and masking the curiosity behind it.

"All I ask is that you don't go looking for how I traveled back in time…I'll try to focus on the highlights of my other timeline, so you can get a broad idea of what happened without getting stuck in useless details."

"Fair enough," Snape replied, before glancing once more at the unconscious Sirius.

"Petrificus Totalus," Snape said, pointing his wand at Sirius.

"What did you do that for?!" Harry exclaimed, his temper rising.

"I'll be vulnerable while in your memories, and don't want to be exposed when he wakes up. If you really aren't a threat, I'll know after this little adventure and I'll unfreeze him. I will summon the Headmaster to watch over him."

"No!" Harry said forcefully, making Snape's grip on his wand tighten. "He can't know…"

"And why is that," Snape replied.

"There was a prophecy created a few years ago… by Professor Trelawney... It prophesied that Dumbledore will kill me if he learns the truth… He can't know…"

"Dumbledore wouldn't.." Snape shot back.

"I have a hard time wrapping my head around it also, and I heard it years ago… But it's not a risk I'm willing to take. You can see the prophecy in my memories, along with the consequences of what will happen if I fail to defeat Voldemort.

Snape nodded, his eyes hardening, "I will reach my own conclusions and do what I think to be best."

And without warning, Snape's mind began to probe harshly into Harry's. Memories flew by, as Harry didn't have time to properly prepare which one's he wanted Snape to see first. Snape seemed uncaring of Harry's opinions, and probed into his memories with his own choosing. Harry had to admit, he should have expected this. Snape didn't want to see the edited version, he wanted to see the whole story.

Snape seemed to start at the end, and work his way back to the beginning. He briefly watched Harry training with Sirius, but quickly moved to the prophecy regarding Dumbledore. Noting that he was nearing the time-travel, Harry began performing the slightest amount of Occlumency, simply notifying Snape that he was prepared to battle if his curiosity got the better of him. Snape seemed to get the message though, and jumped to seeing Harry sitting in the cupboard under the stairs watching the spider. He looked at the seemingly broken man sitting in the cupboard, and quickly went back through the years and saw all of the horrible things that had led to that moment. He saw the Battle of Hogwarts, and watched himself give Harry some of his memories before his death. He lingered in this memory for a while, and even went as far as watching Harry's recollection of himself watching those memories in Dumbledore's pensieve.

Finally, Snape moved on and learned the ins and outs of the Horcrux Hunt, and ended with Voldemort's resurrection in Harry's fourth year. Finally, he pulled out of Harry's memories.

"I'm assuming you haven't simply spent these past few years twiddling your thumbs?" Snape said, looking towards the Gaunt's ring sitting on the table.

Harry let out a small sigh of relief that Snape was not going to make this awkward. He was not going to bring up his mother, nor would he bring up Harry's broken self that sat in the cupboard under the stairs.

"Sirius and I have most of the Horcruxes… We just need the diary, which Malfoy will pretty much hand to me in my second-year… and then there's me…"

"I don't believe you carry the Horcrux this time around," Snape replied, "I didn't see anything resembling a third soul when I diagnosed you earlier."

"But… how?" Harry asked.

"You've entered uncharted territory… I'm assuming that when your older soul entered, it absorbed and destroyed the cursed soul. It would have been a very weak soul, given that it was hardly one-seventh of a full soul. That's my best guess, but it's safe to say that you no longer carry Voldemort's soul. Just be thankful, Potter," Snape replied.

Harry nodded, "What about Dumbledore?"

Snape waited a moment before responding. He pointed his wand towards Sirius, and removed his hex. Sirius jumped to his feet, and went for his wand.

"Just like a dog… think before you act," Snape said while nonverbally using Expelliarmus and sending Sirius' wand across the room.

"Now, be quiet and listen while the grown-ups talk," Snape said harshly towards Sirius, before turning back towards Harry. "I have reached the same conclusion as you… The best way to proceed from here is to keep the Headmaster in the dark. That being said, I think we must tell him about the events that occurred tonight."

"What?! Why?" Harry exclaimed.

"Look at your hand," Snape replied. Harry looked down at his right hand, and saw immediately what he was referring to. The tip of his ring finger was blackened, cursed from touching the ring. It was not the entire hand, but still enough to be noticeable.

"He can't know we were hunting Horcruxes," Harry replied quickly, his mind panicking.

"The locket was still in Grimmauld Place in this timeline, was it not?" Snape replied.

"Yes, it was," Sirius said, trying to get into the conversation. Snape looked at him coldly before turning back towards Harry.

"Give him the locket and make up a story about how you were cleaning and found it hidden somewhere. Then your elf can speak up and tell the story regarding how it got there. Dumbledore can even look at Kreacher's memory if he's uncertain."

"That's… that's… brilliant," Harry admitted, "There's no point in hiding the fact that Voldemort created Horcruxes. Dumbledore will simply start researching what they could possibly be over these next few years."

"Can you remove the curse from the ring?" Sirius asked, looking towards Snape.

"Hm... You're asking me to remove it? Why is that... Are you unable to? Shocking... Maybe should have paid more attention back in school rather than stalking the halls looking for attention," Snape shot back.

"Or just joined up with the Death Eaters, I'm sure they all learned the curse," Sirius retorted.

"Lucky for you, I paid attention in school and learned from my experiences with Dark magic. Your brother attempted to do both as well, but obviously isn't here anymore." Snape replied, before pointing his wand at the ring and muttering some spells Harry had never heard of. After a few moments, he picked up the ring confidently before tossing it to Sirius.

"Kreacher," Sirius said, looking towards the elf, "Go get the locket from the place where it's hidden, and replace it with the ring."

"Master Sirius will have to come with, in order to disable some of the wards."

Sirius glanced uncertainly at Snape before looking at Harry, who gave an approving nod. Sirius took hold of the elf's hand, and disappeared.

Snape and Harry sat in an uncomfortable silence. Snape had his head in his hands, still trying to comprehend the situation at hand. Harry thought about breaking the silence, but figured it best to let Snape concentrate. There was a lot of information Snape needed to digest, but he was taking everything remarkably well.

Sirius returned a few minutes later alongside Kreacher, the locket in hand. He tossed it over to Harry, "So, time to wake up the Headmaster?"

"I believe it would be best to do it now," Snape replied, "We don't want to give the impression we hesitated to contact him."

"Won't he wonder why we chose to come to you?" Harry asked, looking towards Snape.

"It was the first person that popped into my mind… I knew it was Dark magic, and I decided to put my personal feelings aside. If anyone would know how to cure you, it would be Snape. Dumbledore will probably be impressed I was able to put my bias aside… he knows Snape and I don't necessarily see eye to eye."

"You think he'll buy that?" Harry asked, looking between Snape and Sirius.

"Regulus and I were on speaking terms, it makes sense that Sirius would think of me when he saw an object belonging to his brother containing Dark magic. He can even shift blame onto me, saying he thought Reg and I cursed it at some point. Seems like one of those rash conclusions only Sirius could reach," Snape replied.

"That's probably a better story…" Sirius admitted.

"Fine, so… let's go get Dumbledore,"

Snape put his head down for a moment in concentration, before daring the quickest possible glance at Harry's eyes.

"_Expecto Patronum!_"

_**Please review**_ and let me know what you think! I do want to ensure you that Harry is no longer a Horcrux... I know it's a bit of a cop out, and the explanation I have wasn't the best... but that's magic! I'd really appreciate any input you have, whether it be on the plot or characters! Thank you for reading!


	17. Selfish to Love

Dumbledore strode swiftly into the room, his eyes quickly finding Harry. He seemed to relax when he saw him sitting up on a table, chatting casually with Sirius.

"Harry, I'm glad to see you're alright. Snape had me worried with his message. What happened?"

"I wouldn't say alright, Albus," Snape muttered. Dumbledore turned towards him, his eyes full of concern. Snape had seen a lot in his life, and for someone to 'not be alright' in Snape's eyes was saying something. He slowly turned back towards Harry, whose head was pointed down towards his lap. Dumbledore watched him play with his hands, before gasping. Quickly approaching Harry, he took Harry's small hands within his own. Harry watched the Headmaster try to hold back the tears forming at the edge of his eyes as he examined the dead fingertip on his left hand.

"How…" Dumbledore stuttered. This was the first time Harry had seen the man at a complete loss for words. He typically was very composed, even in the most dire of situations. But, he seemed to have lost his nerve tonight.

"I was going through some things upstairs, and I found a locket hidden in the back of a drawer. Well, I could see the chain at least, the rest of it was wrapped in cloth. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Sirius… I thought I'd put a picture in it so he wouldn't miss me when I came to Hogwarts. The second I touched it… well, it hurt..."

"I heard him screaming… Kreacher and I found him at the same time… When Kreacher saw the locket lying next to him, he began screaming about Regulus and Dark magic… I didn't know what to do… I knew the clock was ticking, and the first person that popped into my head was Snape… he was friendly with Regulus and if this was a Dark spell that he learned as a Death Eater, Snape would know it also. I had Kreacher use elf magic to bring us here, apparently your wards aren't secured against it."

Dumbledore nodded, accepting the explanation while noting the major flaw in Hogwarts' security. He looked towards Snape, "It is the Darkened Soul, correct?"

Snape nodded grimly.

Dumbledore hesitated, looking towards Harry. Harry watched the man struggle with the situation, determining whether or not to ask how long Harry had to live. He did not want to lie to the boy about his disease, but at the same time how do you tell a child that his life has an expiration date…

Dumbledore sighed, deciding that it was not his place to tell Harry. He would leave that decision up to Sirius. He would have to reconvene with Snape and Sirius later to discuss exactly how much time Harry had left.

Dumbledore turned towards the locket sitting on the desk beside him.

"I've neutralized the curse, Albus. You can touch it."

Dumbledore took the locket into his hands, and ran his fingers over the metallic frame. Harry watched the Headmaster's jaw open and close several times, as he examined the locket closely. He had opened his mouth to speak a few times, but no words came out. Finally, he seemed to find his voice.

"This… this is the object you touched?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Harry.

Harry nodded, "Is something else wrong?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "No… no don't worry… it's nothing."

Harry smirked inwardly as Dumbledore seemed extremely discomposed. He must have realized that he was holding a Horcrux, and knowing Dumbledore, already deduced that it was housing a piece of Voldemort's soul.

Dumbledore folded his hands together, and straightened his posture,"I think it best that you stay in the hospital wing for the night. Madame Pomfrey will take care of you, and Severus will be close by. Sirius, you're more than welcome to stay the night also, I can have the elves prepare a room."

"I'll stay in hospital with Harry, if that's alright with you," Sirius replied quickly.

"Very well, I will walk you upstairs," Dumbledore offered. "Severus, can you whip up a quick calming draught and send it up to Madame Pomfrey. I want Harry to get a good night sleep."

Snape nodded, knowing Madame Pomfrey had all of the calming draught she needed already. Dumbledore was telling him to stay awake, they had much to discuss.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What happened?" Sirius whispered from the bed beside Harry's. The hospital wing was empty, as Madame Pomfrey just retired to her chambers. Dumbledore had simply told her that they would be requiring a calming draught, and that he would be providing it to her shortly. She had told Dumbledore she had whipped up a new batch of it for the first-years that would come to her heartbroken from being away from their parents.

"The ring… it was cursed…" Harry whispered back.

"No shit, just look at your finger. " Sirius replied.

"I mean cursed in a different way… I saw… well, stuff… it made it seem logical to put on the ring," Harry said, trying to forget the fact that it was a form of Ginny that told him to put on the ring. He was sure that he would be having many nightmares of that moment.

Sirius decided not to press Harry about what he saw, since Harry obviously wasn't in the mood to share his experience. However, they still had much to discuss. "Four years… I should have reached you sooner… Before you touched it at all."

"It's not your fault…" Harry immediately replied.

"I'm your guardian… and I allowed an expiration date to be put on your life…"

"It's not your fault…" Harry said once more.

Sirius was silent for a few moments, before continuing, "Well, I'm going to make these last four years the best of your life, I promise. We can play Quidditch everyday… You can stay home, you don't need Hogwarts… Ron and Ginny can visit you whenever. Plus, you'll have Ginny's undivided attention for a full year before she goes to Hogwarts."

"No Sirius, we can't..." Harry said, with a pain in his voice. "I want that… but we can't do that… My best chance to defeat Voldemort lies from manipulating the timeline based on my knowledge of events… And all of my old experiences lie within these walls. If I leave, we lose a lot of our advantage."

"I know... " Sirius replied, defeated.

"Ever since the prophecy, I knew that I would reach my end before growing old. It was only for a moment, right when I arrived in this timeline, that I ever dreamed of living a long life surrounded by friends… But this isn't a fairytale. I'll fight like hell for these four years, and I'll leave this world better than I found it." Harry said, his voice sad but full of determination.

"And I'll be at your side the entire way," Sirius replied.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry awoke before Sirius, and found himself staring at the clock ticking on the opposite wall. The clock no longer simply displayed the passage of time, but was more like a countdown. Each tick brought his soul slightly further towards destruction. Eventually, Sirius woke up and Dumbledore sent them back to Grimmauld Place after a nice breakfast in the Great Hall.

Walking in the door of Grimmauld Place, they were greeted by a bowing Kreacher.

Harry bowed to Kreacher, saying, "You saved me last night… You have done that a couple times now… Thank you."

Kreacher's eyes filled with tears at his Master's words, along with seeing his Master bow to him. "Kreacher is sorry… about his Master's soul… Kreacher is looking into any elf magic that may help… Up all night trying to find anything that may work… But, fruitless..."

"Dumbledore would have found a cure if there was one… he is very friendly with the elves at Hogwarts. I'm sure he consulted with them in the last timeline when he was diagnosed. Get some rest Kreacher, that's an order."

Kreacher bowed low, before departing to his cupboard.

"So, shall we invite the Weasleys over for dinner tonight?" Sirius asked.

Harry nearly said yes, but hesitated. Sirius wanted to move past last night and act like everything was the same as before, and Harry wanted to do that as well… but if he was going to be honest with himself, everything had changed.

"I'm not in the mood," Harry admitted, sighing.

"What do you mean you're not in the mood? Bet you never said that to Ginny in the last timeline, eh?" Sirius said, his voice lined with suggestiveness.

"I'm not feeling very well," Harry lied unconvincingly.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked.

"I just need some rest," Harry responded.

"You just slept for ten hours!" SIrius replied.

"It's just a headache," Harry said.

"Well, why didn't you say anything to Madame Pomfrey? It could be some part of the curse lingering…" Sirius asked.

"It's not the curse, and I was feeling fine when we left. It's nothing." Harry said.

"Well, maybe we should take you back to Madame Pomfrey," Sirius suggested.

"I'm not going back," Harry replied, growing annoyed.

"But what if it's the curse… Snape could take a look at you," Sirius replied.

Harry's patience found it's end, and all of the emotions he had been holding in over the past day seemed to boil out at once."YOU'RE EXHAUSTING! I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE FOR TWO BLOODY SECONDS. PISS OFF!"

"Shouting match? I think your ten-year old is showing," Sirius replied snarkily.

"Piss off," Harry said, turning on his heel and marching upstairs before slamming the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next few days came and went, with Harry not leaving his room very much. He would train with Sirius in the morning before returning to his room. He wasn't quite sure why, but he just wanted space from the rest of the world. The Weasleys had invited him over multiple times, but he told Sirius to just make up an excuse. He was sick of being Harry Potter, sick of the drama, sick of his life being in danger for as long as he could remember. Sirius tried to get him to do something nearly everyday, but he declined each time claiming he had headaches. Sirius knew this was not true, but gave him space nonetheless. There was no large trip to Diagon Alley, and all of his school supplies were purchased via owl post.

After saying a quick goodbye to Kreacher, Sirius escorted Harry to King's Cross Station. Harry rolled his trolley up to the brick wall separating platforms 9 and 10. He gave a small smile towards Hedwig, whom Sirius had surprised him with a few days ago in an effort to cheer him up.

Harry took a deep breath, looking towards the solid brick wall before him and thought of what lay beyond this wall. On the other side, he would find Hermione… Neville… and the rest of his Gryffindor House. He was even excited to just see Seamus, whom he had never been all that close to.

A small voice whispered beside him, "It's not a real wall, you know."

Harry continued looking at the wall. That voice beside him was the younger version of the one that told him to put on the ring… It had caused him so much pain, but he knew it would bring her even more pain in the future. He will die, it was just a matter of time. Why should he continue growing closer to Ginny if it will only break her heart more later on? He wanted to look into her beautiful, innocent eyes more than anything, but the truth was that there was no future for them. He had no future. He had felt the unbearable pain of losing her before, and did not want to put her through the same pain when she lost him.

His face hardened as his hands tightened around the trolley, hoping that she wouldn't notice them trembling. His foot felt like it was full of lead as he moved it forward, trying to hold in the tears that would inevitably escape from him later that night.

Before Harry made a break for the train, Sirius put an arm on his shoulder and pulled him in close, "Don't forget the people who care about you. I love you kiddo."

"I love you too," Harry mumbled into Sirius' chest, before Sirius ruffled his hair and walked him to the train.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Oy, Harry, wait up!" Ron's voice shouted down the hallway of the train. Harry paused, allowing for Ron to catch up. He could avoid Ginny since she wouldn't be at Hogwarts until next year, but he couldn't just ignore Ron. Plus, this train ride was the moment in which they would meet Hermione, and he didn't want Ron to muck that up too much without him.

Harry had given Hermione a lot of thought over the past few days, and his decision was that he would let this year play out as similar to the last timeline as possible. He knew this would put her through some emotional stress during the first month of school as she adjusted to the wizarding world, but he didn't want to manipulate all of his friendships. Plus, this was the avenue that ensured that they would become friends. He and Ron would solidify their friendship with Hermione by defeating the troll that Quirrell let's in the school in October. Until then, they would be on speaking terms, but he wouldn't put any more effort into forcing the friendship than last timeline.

He and Ron found a compartment, and the train ride went by without any conversation regarding him blowing off Ginny at the station. Ron had asked him where he had been over the past week, but Harry simply said that he was feeling under the weather. Hermione popped in for a few moments and watched Ron miserably fail at changing the color of his new rat, Blisters, to yellow.

All in all, it was a relaxing ride. Draco had stopped by momentarily to try to recruit Harry away from Ron, but was sent back to his compartment disappointed. Before long, they were pulling up to Hogsmeade and the first years were being greeted by Hagrid, who gave Harry a large pat on the back. It had been a few years since Hagrid had last seen Harry, and it was obvious in his eyes that he remembered the beaten and bruised boy he had guarded at the Muggle hospital. Harry gave him a large smile before climbing into the small boat that would take him to his second home.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Potter, Harry!" Mcgonagall shouted, her eyes locking on the familiar boy who had visited the castle a few years ago. The Great Hall became eerily quiet, as students and teachers alike waited in anticipation of which House Harry would be sorted into. Even Dumbledore seemed more engaged than ever, as he leaned forward in his seat. Professor Mcgonagall slowly lowered the Sorting Hat onto Harry's head. Harry's eyes grew wide, as he realized that the Hat would likely be sorting through his memories in order to determine which house suited him best. Harry frantically began putting up every Occlumency shield he knew.

The Sorting Hat remained uncharacteristically quiet for a solid three minutes, before it said, "_Mr. Potter, it seems we meet again."_

Harry sighed in defeat and thought in response, "_It seems so…" _

"_Well, I won't be wasting your time then… Your secret is safe with me. I cannot consult anyone regarding what I see in students' minds anyways. I've seen the risks you've taken in order to come to this moment. While some may say the manipulation makes you a great choice for Slytherin, you are a true Gryffindor,"_ the Sorting Hat said, to his mind.

Harry thought that he would be excited to hear that news, but there was a sinking feeling within him. This was the path that would lead to his friends suffering in the future. Whether it be at Voldemort's hands, or at the grief from his eventual death, they would suffer. Hermione would suffer… Neville would suffer... Ron would suffer… Ginny - well, he would make it as easy on her as possible…

But, he had to go down this path if he wanted his foreknowledge to have much value. He had already deviated significantly from the last timeline with Sirius, and he wanted to have at least some knowledge of future events. Plus, a selfish part of him wanted his old friends back in his life. He would not let Voldemort touch them.

"_It is not selfish to love," _the Sorting Hat said, within his own mind.

His mind wandered back to Ginny, and he closed his eyes tightly. He was leading her down a dangerous path, and one that could not have a happy ending. Even if she was safe, what if she fell in love with him? He had felt the grief of losing her, and it drove him to kiss a Dementor… He wanted her so badly, just another time to hold her in his arms. But, ever since he was hit with the Darkened Soul, he realized there is no chance at the future he had always been holding on hope to. Harry tried to control his shaking hands, as his eyes remained tightly clenched.

_I can't do that to her… It is selfish to love… Not Gryffindor… Not Gryffindor… Not Gryffindor_

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Potter,"_ the Sorting Hat thought, before shouting to the Great Hall, "GRYFFINDOR!"

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Please Review! Your reviews really do help shape the story, and when I receive feedback from you it helps me understand the mindset of the reader! Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers that celebrate it!


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